To any rookie filmmaker, adding music to a great piece of footage might seem easy and fun, but any serious commercial production team knows the headaches, heartaches, and often cheque book-aches in getting exactly the right track for a film. When it comes to permission from big bands in the league of Radiohead – it can seem an impossible task.

For over 30 years soundlounge have been persuading artists like The Beatles; Madonna; David Bowie; Duran Duran; The Who; Iggy Pop; Cream and many, many others to say yes – some for the very first time – for their music to be used in a TV commercial.

The UNICEF campaign is now gathering its own momentum. In just a few days of being live on youtube, it has achieved 50,000 views, 94,000 records on Google and been tweeted out by Bill Gates. Many people are now asking just how did we secure Radiohead’s  “Yes”……..

The Brief

Way back in Feb this year, soundlounge were invited to meet with the passionate yet exhausted creative team from Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, Katie Stanley and Huw Williams, who had literally just returned from their three-week shoot capturing the lives of children in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Uganda and the Philippines. Their account of what they had lived and filmed was moving and passionate. They spent a great deal of time going into minute details to try and explain to our music supervisors, Brian Kelly and Sam Nicholson, their ambitions for the music and exactly what they needed the viewer to feel through the music and picture working together.

Not every agency is so thorough with their music brief or in their willingness for music supervisors to probe into the heart of the desired response

The Film

Rarely in 30 years of music supervision work has the soundlounge team been so moved by a film. The award-winning director Adrian Moat has shot a spectacular film and editor James Rosen of Final Cut had created a fantastic edit together, all 5 min 20 secs of footage! Our first challenge: the agency wanted music throughout the entire film – tricky when most tracks are under 4:30 minutes!

The Search

Brian and Sam began the search for potential tracks. They knew the music had to tick off the following boxes:

• Evoke the desired emotions
• Work with the images and pace
• No negative associations with the artists or song lyrics
• No other brand conflict
• Liked by the agency
• Loved by the client
• Approved by the artist and writers

Literally hundreds of tracks and creative ideas were explored, the best of the ideas edited to picture, tracks remixed to extend to five minutes, and each presented to the agency and charity for consideration.

Free?!

As music supervisors we receive many calls from producers at agencies asking about music that often starts with “we have a very small budget for music”. Calls asking to ’help’ them find a song for their charity clients campaigns always means one thing – pro bono, which means a whole different conversation with Rights Owners

What this means is that in addition to every other creative requirement, the final track for UNICEF would have to be donated with all fees waived by Artist, Publisher and Record Company. For each one of our ideas we presented to the client, tentative enquiries were made as to availability. This in itself is an exercise in diplomacy – asking questions that do not compromise any artist into feeling obligated or imply that their track is the one selected (or rejected). Not easy conversations.

Radiohead

But there were only two tracks that ever really resonated for us. Both of them were Radiohead copyrights – we knew that the tracks we had chosen were exactly the right sound for the film and reflected the message from the charity.

Knowing what to ask for and when to ask is key in negotiations at this level. Tom Foster, Head of Sync at Warner Music Group, was brilliant in the way that he worked with our lead licensing negotiator Dan Payne. We had included Tom in the loop early when the possibility of Radiohead came up. Having seen the film in its various stages, he advised that it was now worth a conversation with the band. But we also knew that Radiohead get at least five enquiries a week for synchronisation, most of which are turned down.

Successful bands are notoriously busy, whether writing or recording or relaxing from all of the above, so the windows of opportunity are short. The film was sent over to Radiohead.  All we could do now was wait. We got the call. They had seen the film. We held our breath. Radiohead granted us approval for its use.

Approved

The band had said yes to the UNICEF message, a yes to the film edit and a yes to our five-minute mix of ‘Videotape’. Huw Williams at AMV BBDO understood the significance of this permission:

“The sheer power of the film and the Radiohead association will unquestionably strike genuine appeal with more people than we could have ever hoped. But we have been ever mindful that investing in the planning of the campaign would help us make the absolute most of this rare and wonderful opportunity.”

Sellouts or Saints?

Charities, the music industry and famous (and sometimes not so famous) artists often conjure up one thought – Live Aid, Live 8, charity records…. High profile events where the cynical amongst us question motivation. The truth is that many, many artists in the world of music make things happen under the radar that have a much more far reaching, powerful and targeted effects.

Radiohead obviously know the true meaning of charity, where something is quietly given with no press statements, that enable and empower others to improve their lives.

We truly hope this spirit of charity will rub off on viewers when they take the 5mins to view this amazing film.

To learn more about UNICEF’s ‘Put It Right’ campaign and how you can get involved, visit unicef.org.uk

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It’s easy to get swept away by Inception’s stunning visuals, but it seems the music and sound design are getting just as much press.

The Guardian revealed last week that Hans Zimmer’s entire epic score stems from one old French tune – Edith Piaf’s recording of “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”. In the film, the dreamers use this song to “kick” themselves awake. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll hear that the main Inception theme is basically a remix of Piaf’s song. Very clever!

Zimmer apparently had some fun as a musical prankster:

“Just for the game of it, all the music in the score is subdivisions and multiplications of the tempo of the Edith Piaf track…I was surprised how long it took [fans] to figure it out.” (New York Times)

Zimmer’s score is an incredible example of how one small piece of musical “DNA” can permeate the entire soundtrack. It’s like a Bach motif woven throughout a piece of music (or Coke’s sonic logo woven into a K’naan track). Even if we’re not fully aware of this DNA, it gives the music a deeper, almost subconscious structure.

The sound design of Inception is just as layered and intricate. Take a peek at this wonderful Sound for Film Profile:

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
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twitter.com/soundlounge

And the soundlounge award this year goes to…(drum roll please)…a totally brilliant piece of sonic branding from the Coke team of music supervisors. Those who have been following soundlounge’s extensive blog coverage of World Cup advertising music will know that there were dozens of contenders for the crown. However we are all agreement here, that apart from the vuvuzelas, the most recognizable sound from this year’s World Cup has come from a previously little-known Somali-Canadian artist.

Thanks to Coke, K’naan’s song “Wavin’ Flag” has reached an amazing number one in eleven countries (and still counting). With over twenty regional remixes featuring local superstars, “Wavin’ Flag” has become the most popular and memorable soundtrack to South Africa 2010.

Coke has made K’naan an international superstar by modifying his song and promoting the “Coca-Cola Celebration Mix”. But this socially conscious rapper and poet insists this relationship with Coke doesn’t affect his integrity as a musician: “I don’t work for Coke or anything; what I do is my music.” (Billboard).

So isn’t this just a piece of band-brand marketing? Whether or not listeners are consciously aware, Coke have used a technique we call audio watermarking. This is a popular and well-known trick that has been around for centuries and used by composers and producers to weave a sound/motif into a piece of music. Unlike say the Audi sonic logo, which sits at the end of a commercial, watermarking acts like an ‘earworm’, which gets inside our brains and becomes so compulsive that we go around humming it as we walk down the street and not understanding why. We effectively become living, walking, singing commercials for Coke. Whatever K’naan would have his fans believe, embedded into “Wavin’ Flag” is an interesting piece of branding, and Coca-Cola have been priming us to wave their sonic branding flag for a while now…

Watch on Vimeo

We’ve actually been hearing this melody for years in Coke commercials. But this time the branding is even less obvious than their original “Open Happiness” song. By sneaking the Coke melody into an otherwise musically unbranded song, they’ve seen incredible success in the charts. In our opinion, it’s a much more intelligent form of branding than paying artists to name-drop brands in their lyrics.

So why doesn’t the average “Wavin’ Flag” fan connect the dots? It took us a few times before the penny dropped and we started to research. It’s as if Coke wants their motif to be subliminal, so that listeners recognize the sound but can’t say exactly why they recognize it. No other hit single has captured the sound of a brand in such an effective and clever way. Even Billboard didn’t come out and say it’s the Coke motif:

‘["Wavin Flag"] features many elements of the original song but includes a pre-chorus that sets the uplifting, unified tone of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, turning the song into one that is “more open, more inviting, more celebratory”‘.

Coke has clearly been steering the ship, taking K’naan on a grand tour of 84 countries. The big question though – what happens after the World Cup? A&M/Octone Records CEO James Diener says that Coke is “invested in K’naan for the duration of his career” (Billboard). That’s a bold statement given the fickle nature of musical popularity. If K’naan loses momentum, will Coke drop him for a fresh new artist or another ‘local’ artist for the next big sports sponsorship? Until then, will they be moderating all of K’naan’s music and infusing it with the sound of Coca-Cola?

You can be sure soundlounge will be listening out for the next Coke advert. And now that you know the Coke motif inside and out, keep your ears open and let us know if you do hear it anywhere else!

Ruth Simmons, Managing Director
Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
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If you enjoyed our article, feel free to say hello on Twitter – @soundlounge (and @soundequity for Ruth)

In anticipation of the big game between Brazil and Portugal today we couldn’t resist revisiting this old Nike ad from 2004:

Nike always seems to capture and evoke the appropriate emotions perfectly in their football adverts. This playful, Latin-influenced track by Perry Como sets the mood brilliantly. The Brazil team have featured heavily in Nike’s adverts over the years, and each time Nike have used another great Latin track: Papa Loves Mambo, Mas Que Nada, and Soul Bossa Nova.

But what happens when Nike feature some of England’s players on home soil? The classic grey backdrop of an English summer coupled with the English distinct lack of rhythm that the Brazilian’s Samba style football oozes is hardly synonymous with Latin music. This can only mean one thing…Blur!

Watch on YouTube

“Parklife” is, if anything, even more emotive than Nike’s Latin alternatives. Its classic 90’s Britpop feel helps the ad resonate with every Englishman’s memories of playing football with their mates, which is exactly what Nike intended. From an English perspective, this is possibly Nike’s best football advert, so It just goes to show that you don’t need the Brazilian flair to make an exciting football ad…the right music will do it perfectly!

Our next blog will be on Monday 28th June…let’s hope we’ll be doing a feature on songs to celebrate an English victory rather than songs of commiseration!

Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
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The World Cup has been with us for over a week now but it’s not just football matches that have kept us music supervisors entertained. There has also been a battle of the brands and with it a deluge of high budget football-themed adverts. The best and biggest of the bunch is of the course Nike’s “Write the Future” ad:

But what about the other adverts? We’ve been looking at a couple of match ups on the run-up to the World Cup.

Coke vs. Pepsi

Both brands start this match with a sense of fun but you get the feeling Coke have more conviction from the off with a strong use of actual match footage. Pepsi must be disappointed with themselves after trying to no avail to get their players to act…no doubt we’ll see plenty more acting from the players during the games! Coke then double their efforts with an online campaign to inspire viewers to upload their own celebrations and its 1-0 to Coke.

Never ones to be defeated easily Pepsi attempt to strike back with a heavily African influenced track, but it seems the pace is all wrong as Coke counter with their own African influenced track that is far more evocative and memorable, 2-0 Coke. The exposure of “Wavin’ Flag” means we’re all singing along with Coke’s ad, whilst Pepsi’s remains distinctly forgettable.

Pepsi continues to battle on and has one final chance with their use of a very strong cast. The big name players such as Henry and Drogba never fail to grab our attention (2-1), although they lack the flashes of skill we’ve all come to eagerly anticipate from the Nike ads. While the familiar faces draw us in, the music certainly doesn’t…an unfortunate end result for Pepsi.

Final Score:  Coke: 2, Pepsi: 1

Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
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Pick up almost any article on sonic branding and somewhere you will find a sentence that exalts the ability of music to connect with ‘people’ on an emotional level. But for any brand – ‘people’ is a very big universe and responsible brand gurus know they’ll need more information than just these broad emotional promises, before they can allocate precious time and money to the sound branding process.

Maybe this explains why music and sound still represent a big hole in many marketing strategies. It would seem that the major brands are very aware that when they try to plug this hole with one-off hit music ’strategies’, or low budget tracks, they don’t support their branding but often simply just fill the silence. A recent Marketing Week report reveals that finding and judging music are still major hurdles for many brand managers. BT‘s Fraser Smeaton honestly admitted:

“When we started using music in our direct response television campaigns, I sat in the room with the creatives and asked them two questions: How do I decide? And what’s the framework I use to make this decision on music? One of our leading agencies simply replied: ‘Whichever one you think works best’…You can feel incredibly exposed. [We are missing]…the segmentation to give us a framework for choosing music”.

Turns out a few smart brands have already found these frameworks to help them choose and judge music. With all the buzz surrounding the new Audi sound style guide, a lot of brand managers out there are probably wondering, should I be doing this? Does my brand do enough with music to need a sound style guide? And what exactly goes into one?

To set your creative gears in motion, take a few moments and explore how Audi approached the process:

Watch on YouTube

But this is just Audi’s approach. Maybe you’re selling chocolate bars, and aren’t interested in recording noisy chewing and lip smacking in surround sound. So where do you start with your sound style guide? Or more importantly, why should you start?

First we’ll address some of the common fears we hear from brand managers on the fence about sonic branding. And then, we’ll get into the benefits of having a sound style guide on hand.

Key Fears

1) Music has perceived limited shelf life…

Some say: Think of the red Coca-Cola can or the yellow McDonald’s arches – these visual applications are timeless. But music doesn’t work the same way. One too many commercials with the same song and the audience will reach for the TV remote.

We say: Yes and no. It’s true that most commercials use one track per execution, literally to support the visual narrative. But some brands can use the same track for time immemorial. Think BA, think Hovis, think Marmite. Just as the visual branding evolves, so can the sound branding. All of these brands rearranged and refreshed their music to keep it relevant whilst maintaining the integrity of the original.

A sound style guide worth its fee should do more than define a repetitive jingle, a 4-note audio logo, or a single track that survives for a couple commercials. It should create a timeless palette of musical “colors” and “fonts” that any composer or music supervisor can draw from for each new campaign.

2) Sound style guides are a BIG time commitment…

Some say: Audi spent about a year and a half developing their sound style guide. We don’t have that sort of time; we have events and commercials and upcoming deadlines to worry about.

We say: Not every brand is going to need that amount of time at the drawing board, but it will require some longer-term commitment to understand what works for your brand and then develop those sounds. It doesn’t happen overnight but neither does visual branding On the other hand, consider how much time and money is actually wasted trying to find the right track amongst the millions that are out there in the ‘cloud’? Daniel Mathieson, Head of Sponsorship at Barclaycard, says:

“There was a lot of trying out of different tracks…There was an element of luck involved in trying to find that track because right at the last minute, another option was thrown up and that was the one we went with”.

At soundlounge, we’ve found that with the focused attention of the brand stakeholder for just a few hours and access to their brand archives, we can create a sound guide for brands in just a few weeks. It’s a quicker and more effective process than the usual game of creative ping pong, where the brief gets changed and reinterpreted, and decisions are based on “I’ll know it when I hear it” criteria.

3) Sound style guides cost too much…

Some say: What about the costs to produce the guide? Then on top of that, will we still have to demo, record a master sound recording or licence the track?

We say: Yes, you will still have to pay for copyright licences and/or for commissioning new demos. But with a sound guide, the briefing process will be…well, on brief. This allows your music supervisors, composers, recording artists, and sound engineers to do their job more efficiently , which will mean cost savings for you on every campaign

4) Sound style guides restrict creativity…

Some say: A sound guide will restrict our creativity. Every situation demands a different piece of music. What happens when Audi’s creative team comes up with a hilarious new idea that will only work if they can use ‘Ode to Joy’?

We say: Great – if the sound DNA is suddenly and consciously changed for a reason, the consumer impact will only increase. Think Mars’ white wrappers for the World Cup. Contrary to urban myth, these frameworks actually stimulate creativity and open up opportunities.

We know that not everyone welcomes change, and some creative teams do resist the whole concept of a sound guide. I often wonder if Stephen King, Head of Planning at JWT in the ‘70s, had the same issues when he first outlined his ideas for a visual corporate manual!

So if you are going to take those crucial first steps, what are the benefits of having a sound style guide? We have quite a list, but here are some of the highlights…

Key Benefits

Brand recognition: Imagine an era when consumers can identify a brand just from how it sounds. Not just a sonic logo, but an integrated sound DNA that is as recognizable as your sister or brother. Impossible? Great music industry producers have been doing this with bands for years. A few beats from U2 or The Beatles are all we need to pick them out. We believe brands can be every bit as recognizable with the right sound strategy.

Sound consistency: With improved music briefing, brands often find that they can remedy their past sound schizophrenia (different tracks, different instrumentation, and varied production quality from one campaign to another). The immediate result – more consistent sound that keeps your audience subconsciously “connected” from campaign to campaign.

Sound assets: Every time a brand uses sound – in marketing, sales, or PR – it influences the public’s perception of that brand, effectively creating an asset or a liability for its overall brand equity. Using precise brand equity metrics with a great sound guide will help build a reservoir of sound assets that reflect the brand’s core values, are measurable, and add to the bottom line.

Brand differentiation: When your creative team can consistently identify songs that fit your brand, when your customers can “hear” your brand from the other room, and when your competitors are jealous of your unmistakable sound DNA, then you know your sound branding has set you apart from the rest of the marketing noise. The sound guide is your first step.

If you are considering creating a sound guide and want to know more, simply pick up the phone or drop us an email. We would be delighted to put you on the right track.

Ruth Simmons
+44 (0) 20 7724 2420
ruth@soundlounge.co.uk
twitter.com/soundequity

A bit of soundlounge news – we’ve recently had the pleasure of working with Rachel Botsman to license a music track for her TEDx Talk on Collaborative Consumption. The results:

Watch on Vimeo

The days are long gone when presentations were given and forgotten. Now, in the YouTube era, any presentation you give could be online for all eternity. Scary thought!

So maybe licensing music might be the last thing on your mind. But it’s important to cover all your bases legally, for when your small conference video suddenly goes viral. A great solution for most presentations is a production library track. While a hit song might cost £8,000 per use, this library track we found for Rachel cost a one-time fee of £200 to license for unlimited use.

Need music for your next presentation? Feel free to contact us.

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“Films are 50 percent visual and 50 percent sound.” –David Lynch

Even the most average brand has its own Corporate Identity Manual. Effectively pages upon pages upon pages of visual style guidelines. Which typeface to use, how to not screw up the logo, which Pantone colors will sell the most hamburgers, etc. Visual branding has been taken to almost ridiculous extremes, as evidenced by the infamous Pepsi rebranding guide.

But if David Lynch is right, and sound accounts for half of a film experience, why haven’t brand managers been obsessing over their music and audio choices? Where are the pages upon pages upon pages of sound style guides?

It would seem that music historically has been selected on a needs to basis – ‘We just need a bit of music here to support this narrative or message.’ One-off music ideas that work for one execution. But before we get run down by the crush of creatives defending their decisions, a few questions to muse. Does this approach work? Or are brands actually creating some form of audio schizophrenia by changing their sound with each new campaign? Most importantly, can you stand in the kitchen and recognize the brand just from what you hear?

Whilst many advertising agencies still treat sound branding as a dark art, it would seem that smart brands are beginning to realize the potential of a sound strategy.

Audi has been thinking quite a bit about the sound of their brand for a few years now. They have used the heartbeat for their sonic logo (the audio sign off at the end of a commercial). The original was created by Milo Heller in Hamburg. It was later given a facelift by Metadesign. The newest version has been created by S12 in Munich.

The S12 guys have apparently developed a unique palette of instruments and sounds to draw from, just like a color scheme in a visual style guide. In the video below you’ll hear some of the sounds they’ve claimed as Audi-esque: a steady heartbeat, a breath, a piano:

By narrowing their set of musical building blocks, they’re hoping to create a consistent brand sound for their otherwise consistent brand image. The end goal, of course, is for the audience to hear that heartbeat and think Audi.

When brands develop a sonic logo and start talking about this as their sound identity it has to be a step forward. The challenge is persuading them that a sonic logo is merely a syllable in the whole sound identity language. Just as no self-respecting brand thinks they are done with just their visual logo, there are whole new sound frontiers to be crossed after the sonic logo. What about contextual use, or adapting sound to meet the needs of cultural differences, or evaluating how it is working, or its contribution to ROI or even the possibility of trademarking their sound?

When Stephen King, Head of Planning at J Walter Thompson in the 70’s, first addressed the concept and importance of  visual branding – yes it is only 40 years old – I am sure he was met with similar resistance as the sound branders of today. But who could have ever have predicted that using consistent methodology and frameworks, we would be able to differentiate one brown fizzy drink from another and understand lifestyle? Or from the shareholders perspective, build something where a visual logo is valued in the billions of dollars.

When other great luminaries in the Advertising world like Sir John Hegarty of BBH agree with David Lynch in their appreciation of the role of sound, can brands really afford to leave these pages of their CI manual blank?

Audi are already revved up and way ahead of their competition.

Ruth Simmons, CEO
soundlounge

Thinking about working on your brand’s sound? Watch this space for the pros and cons of creating a sound style guide.

Silence can be deadly, especially when it’s a hybrid car sneaking up behind you. So for the first time in history, automakers are working to create synthetic engine noise. And they might start calling on everyone from sound designers to film composers to music supervisors for the sounds of these new cars.

Sound like science fiction? Just take a peek at this Batmobile-like hybrid from Fisker Automotive:

Watch on YouTube

The cool part is that this car’s “takeoff” sound came from a set of external speakers. In theory, you could replace this sound with anything you want, just like changing a cell phone’s default ring. Will customizable engine sounds be the next “ringtone” craze? Will we one day download our car’s tones from iTunes? Will artists of the future collect royalties on mileage?

There are obviously some legal hurdles before we hear anything too unique on the road. But the door is currently wide open for automakers to experiment with new sounds. It’s only a matter of time before the big brands will be racing to create the coolest-sounding electric car. What a fun time to be in the audio branding business!

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
soundlounge

Special thanks to @soundseller for pointing out the Fisker Karma Hybrid video.

If you type ‘Advert’ into Google ‘Advert Music’ appears immediately after ‘Advertising’ and ‘Advertising Standards Authority’ and before all other dimensions of a television campaign. From these analytics, this would seem to suggest that it’s the music in TV commercials that captures most peoples’ imaginations. Yet in my 30 years of being in this business, the Advertising Trade press rarely give the track or music supervisor who called the tune in the first place, a mention – that is until the national press pick up the story of course.

However, considering how many commercials use music each year, it is curious that we can remember so few. When one comes along, like the recent John Lewis commercial using Fyfe Dangerfield’s version of the Billy Joel song ‘Always A Woman’, it is extraordinary how much coverage the music track elicited. It would seem that suddenly everyone becomes a music supervisor – social commentaries and explanations emerged from The Guardian to The Times to Style Magazine as to why and how the writer of the article believed the track worked. Yet the real creative minds behind the idea, the creative team at Adam & Eve and Abi Leland, (the Music Supervisor) are still, well…anonymous.

Are these tracks happy accidents (chosen in post-production and just seem to work), or are they the result of careful planning and strategic decision-making? While we are all aware that music can operate on a deep level, we still seem surprised at the level of emotional connectivity that the right music track can have with the right visual. It’s as if once a track touches us on a personal level, we are all driven to explain how those emotional connections are being made – deep meanings become attributed to a campaign that’s selling a department store.

The magic of the latest John Lewis commercial is that it takes us on a visual journey, supported by a song that has its own intrinsic narrative. The advantage of using such a well-known track is that it creates a familiarity for the viewer and whats more is perfectly ‘on brand’ with the target market – the John Lewis female customer. Joel’s song leads us into the commercial, like an old friend opening a door and welcoming us in. However what truly makes this commercial resonate so well, is the perfect match of song and imagery. Some have criticised the seeming mismatch of the lyrics (“She steals, she lies, she takes what she can.”) with the ‘cosy’ visuals. Putting aside the fact that the song is about loving someone despite their failings, we have seen many times before that it’s the overall emotion of the song that’s important and not just the lyrics – remember the emotional impact of The Cars track ‘Drive’ with footage of starving African children on Live Aid?

Music and visuals have to work seamlessly together; when one outshouts the other, it can be de-stablising to the whole experience. We literally feel out of synch. Sound and vision must have an almost symbiotic relationship with each other. It may seem an obvious conclusion, but perhaps it is only through the perfect convergence of all these elements, that we will see more commercials as successful as the recent John Lewis campaign. The agency have done a brilliant job, our only regret is we can’t add this to our showreel!

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