Think for a minute: How many spots have you heard lately that use an ex-pop radio hit for music? OK, that’s long enough. Now you’re going to need a lot more time for writing out your list, because it’s probably a long one. Depending on when you tune in, your TV just may be a more reliable source of hits from the 1970s and ’80s than is your radio—which is a great thing for all of us who only need to hear the opening guitar lick and chorus of our favorite golden oldie, shaved down to exactly :30.
For the rest of us, however, who think that "great creative" should apply to a spot’s music along with the rest of the concept, the TV commercial as classic rock jukebox stopped making sense quite a while ago. Successful spots are most often the result of original creative where all the main elements—central concept, visual and audio—were developed in concert with each other. Original music and sound design, when handled carefully, is tailor made to each spot, strengthening the impact of the unique message that an agency’s client is paying big money to put on the air.
Great rock songs, on the other hand, were written to stand alone. Slapping a sliver of a familiar tune onto a spot might make for a hip half minute, but in most cases that’s ultimately going to be a waste of time and money. Licensing an aging radio hit from business-savvy artists and their publishers can cost a small fortune, and going that route lost its power to make a spot stand out a long time ago. For every time it actually makes good sense, like pairing up Steve Miller’s "Fly Like an Eagle" with the United States Postal Service, there are a dozen rockin’ commercials in which the connection between the music and the concept is weak.
Giving a spot a soundtrack that packs true punch is all about music and sound design made for people’s ears today, which means knowing how to listen to the modern undercurrent—not the mainstream from 15 years ago. At our company, we seek to create work that speaks to our pop culture by relying on our composers’ instincts, and by hooking up with artists that are making new music and sounds now.
Music and sound design is as much a science as it is art. It takes advantage of current information to make a spot with everything in synch. Throwing darts at dated Billboard Hot 100 charts in search of audio for a commercial might be fun and easy, but it’s a missed opportunity, and it’s been sounding old for a while now. Now is the time to leave that Awesome Eighties CD at home, and to get back to making music that is thoughtfully integrated with the concept of the spot.
