Ads, music and brand recognition

For the second time in a week, my attention has been grabbed (meerkat-style) by the music playing in a television advert. For years I’ve thought that ads created for a European audience have some of most appropriate and top quality soundtracks of any in the world, so it’s not a new thing. But as the amount of time I spend watching the TV declines, it’s not as regular an occurrence.

It’s often an electro beat that makes my ears prick (Smart’s choice of Stomax’s Midnight Mutations for its latest ‘fortwo’ model originally inspired me to write this), but sometimes it’s the riff of a dirty hip hop baseline that puts butterflies in my stomach. Other times it will be a heartfelt piece of instrumental that mirrors so exquisitely the emotive story line of a show. In fact, it was the gut-wrenching piano solo – Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi – from one of the This is England 86′ trailers that sparked the conversation again tonight.

My earliest recollection of an ad truly creating a branded ‘hit’ was Levi’s project with Mr Oizo/Flat Eric, but this is something different. This is about discovery. I actually find that I’ll wander off down strange paths and new playlists (case in point, the This is England 86′ soundtrack is BLINDING and I was reunited with Fatlip’s Today’s Your Day)

Can I always remember the brand that got me there in the first place? God no (I had to go looking for the Smart ad above, and it took a while). But I remember the visuals and the music. Maybe that’s just because my mind is wired like that, but just maybe there’s an untapped opportunity to tie the two together in a smarter way, like Levi’s achieved in a way few have been able to replicate.

In the meantime, I urge you to listen to the tunes above. The Fatlip track in particular makes for a great accomplishment to a run in the sunshine.