Month: August

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Jingles have made a comeback to the forefront of many advertising campaigns today. Wrigley had recently commissioned Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, and Julianne Hough to remix its jingles for Big Red, Double Mint, and Juicy Fruit, respectively. Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, Pharrell of the Neptunes, and Santogold recently wrote a song called "My Drive Thru" for a Converse advertising campaign, even though that song was not a jingle. McDonalds recently held a contest to remix its famous "all beef patties" jingle from the 1970s. It is a new expression of the jingles, since they had gone out of style in advertisements some years ago, and have since been replaced by more standard music with a catch phrase line at the end, such as Kay Jeweler's "Every kiss begins with K" or "Come and get your love" from Alltel. Some think the jingle is making a comeback because it originally came up when times were "better," according to some. "Jingles" is a television show to be aired in CBS with judges, including Kiss' Gene Simmons. It will give contestants a chance to write jingles for actual products and a $100,000 prize.

Month: July

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Many labels and publishers are going with branded CDs to expose their music to audiences. They can approach a particular outlet, like Hello Kitty or Lancome, with a certain demographic of customer an create a compilation CD filled with songs specifically picked for that target market. For Hello Kitty, having the product closer to toys and in the same store is important. Parents may not think twice about picking up the CD if it is already in the store they are shopping in, rather than having to go to a CD store. Wal-Mart has done a similar practice with their "Soundcheck" series, where artists would play short sets and Wal-Mart would release them on CDs in their stores, sometimes packaging them with "official" releases. The labels and publishers are trying to find any non-traditional way to get their music noticed, and are realizing the power that retailers have in exposing the music.

Month: July

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As recorded music sales slip for the business and advertisers find their markets to be fragmented over new media platforms, it's easy to see why both are looking to co-brand in new campaigns. Marketers see using music as a way to reach consumers with a deeper ring that is not forced or contrived. Sara Bareilles' success within the Rhapsody spot along with The Shins and McDonalds, Santogold and Bud Light, and many more have shown a change in how it is easier to pair artists with brands in a day where people are just looking to make things work. Toyota, Red Bull, Barcardi, and Procter & Gamble have marketed, financed, and released music as part of branding campaigns. The next step happened when Reckitt Benchiser's agency of record Euro RSCG acquired a majority stake in an independent record label, the:Hours, with a distribution agreement with Universal Music. The:Hours' goal is to create a large, commercial friendly catalog through signings to be used for many campaigns. The company will continue to work through other labels and publishers, as well.