Kajal Boyina
Professor Jared Grogan
English 1020
18 September 2013
Music has an Impact on Advertisement Viewers
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be
silent” (Victor Hugo). For persuasion to actually work its charm the emotional appeal
needs to be strong enough to reach out to the desired audience. Music is a helpful
technique in doing so. We see this persuasive technique used in commercials the most
because that’s the most suitable form of entertainment that is benefited by the use of
music to convey a message and change ones opinion. What is entertainment without
music? Well for one, we know that it isn’t as appealing to the audience and doesn’t draw
as much attention and interest when music is not used. Advertisement is possible without
the use of music, but it is definitely not as efficient when there is a lack of musical
appeal. Some strong examples that justify the importance of music in advertisement
would be the jingle used in the Hanson’s Windows commercial, and also the Chrysler
commercial discussed in class. The persuasive jingle from Hanson’s Windows is used to
convince the audience to remember a specific message the advertisement pin points and
The Chrysler commercial depicts the ethos of using a musical icon to portray a message,
the pathos of the emotional appeal with the song choice used, and the logos of the idea
that Eminem represents Detroit, reminding the audience of his music and lyrics that so
strongly portray the city.
The persuasive technique of using music to get a point across is something that
we encounter every time we turn on the TV and have a commercial break. Lets take the
example of the jingle found in Hanson’s Windows commercial. Every time we see that
commercial we hear the jingle “call 1-800-hansons” play in our minds. I would say that a
phone number is a pretty important part to a company and with this jingle we have their
phone number memorized! After someone has finished watching that commercial they
are persuaded to remember Hanson’s Windows phone number and that proves that music
is an efficient technique. Using a jingle is only one form of persuasion through music.
We see this happen in a lot of commercials because companies want their tune stuck in
your head so they can stand out and you don’t forget them. Its pretty effective if you
think about it because these jingles do get stuck in our heads and the majority of us don’t
forget them. This jingle develops a linkage between the audiences mind and the
company’s brand. It’s odd that something as short as a 10 second jingle can persuade
people to buy a companies product but those tend to be the catchiest and the most
convincing. According to “The Power of the Jingle” by EPR Contributor, “Jingles have
proven their worth in advertising over the past century as a means of consumer
persuasion. Catchy jingles may tell you about really great products or services that might
have escaped your notice. Conversely, jingle may push you in the direction of a
product’s competitor for no other reason than that the competitor’s jingle stuck in your
mind.”
Music also uses the rhetoric tools of ethos, logos and pathos. One example of how
music uses ethos is by taking a musical icon and using him/her to create an appeal that is
ethical. A specific example of this would be the Chrysler commercial we went over in
class. The commercial used Eminem as a musical icon to represent the city of Detroit and
by using Eminem the viewers from Michigan felt a sense of pride when watching the
advertisement. The use of one of Michigan’s favorite musical icons in this advertisement
also created a sense of credibility for the viewers because their favorite artist who’s from
their state is representing Chrysler therefore making Chrysler stand out to the targeted
audience of Detroit.
Not only did the advertisement use the rhetoric technique of ethos but pathos also
because through out the commercial the beat to one of Eminem’s well-known songs was
playing in the background creating a sort of emotional appeal. Certain songs give
different emotional appeals to different people and the song played in this advertisement
gave a feeling of pride when watching. “Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the
higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot
comprehend” (Ludwig van Beethoven). I believe this quote describes perfectly how
music can influence ones state of mind without really being explained. Songs remind
people of memories or an idea and a lot of Eminem’s songs remind one of Detroit and the
city he loves to represent. Just by listening to the beat in the background of the
commercial we can feel Detroit’s vibe in a manner that can only be explained by science.
A specific emotion that viewers feel while listening to the beat behind the Chrysler
advertisement would be pride.
This feeling of pride that the viewers feel while listening and watching leads to
the expression of how intense the commercial is. There’s a sense of excitement there
when Detroit lovers are watching and even if the viewers is not a Detroit lover, he/she
can still feel the intensity because of how the music flows with the visual picture of
Detroit.
This well-known Chrysler commercial also uses the technique of logos by
expressing that Detroit is the motor city therefor producing the best cars, and using
Eminem shows this. This is a logical way of thinking and those who aren’t as educated
about the automotive industry (which Is a good amount of us) will fall for the logos
depicted in the advertisement. “Now we’re from America –But this isn’t New York City,
or the Windy City, nor Sin City. And we’re certainly no one’s Emerald City” (Chrysler
Commercial). Towards the end of the commercial Eminem steps in and says, “This is the
Motor City and this is what we do.” These texts specifically distinguish Detroit from all
the other major known cities and emphasizes that Detroit is the Motor City. With this text
said in the commercial it brings back memories to the lyrics of the song just through the
aspect that both are intense. Using the technique of logos we think back to Eminem’s
music and lyrics, bringing back memories. Advertising can be portrayed in a lot of forms
but as said earlier, according to David Huron three quarters of advertisements use music
to get their idea across. That’s the majority of advertisements and clearly these statistics
show that the impact Music has on viewers is working to persuade them in a
psychological manner.
We hear music being used in many forms because it can easily access ones
emotional state of mind and trigger a change in it. Not only do we see music being used
as a persuasive technique on television but also we see it on a day-to-day basis when we
walk the streets of Detroit. Earlier I encountered some musicians in Greek Town playing
their saxophones and it made me think of how the live music they perform persuades
people to want to throw some spare change into their dedicated pile of money. This made
me think that Detroit itself is a musical city, emphasizing the musical impact shown in
the Chrysler commercial. The thoughts running through my mind were unique because I
was thinking if just some homeless people could play some live music on the streets and
persuade people to give them some money I could only imagine the amount of power real
advertisements have using music to persuade people to lean their interest towards the
targeted product being spoken up about. One thing for sure is that music is powerful and
one of the most commonly used persuasive techniques that actually has the power to
move ones state of mind and we see many examples, such as the ones I have talked
about, that prove this point.
Music is also a wide spread form of persuasion used in advertisements not only
efficiently but also commonly. According to the article “Music in Advertising: An
analytic paradigm” by David Huron, “Of the estimated sixty billion broadcast advertising
hours encountered by North Americans each year, approximately three-quarters employ
music in some manner.” These statistics shows how effectively music is used to persuade
people and that without music it would be very difficult for advertisements to be as
convincing. Music is applicable in many scenarios and uses ethos but manipulating a
musical icon, pathos by triggering an emotional appeal through a song, and logos using
the musical representation of Detroit to say that Detroit is the best. Street advertisement
uses a musical approach as a persuasive technique and so do most advertisements in
general. There are a lot of unique persuasive techniques but music is one that is revolved
around by all the other persuasive techniques, it’s almost like the backbone of persuasion
and as shown in the examples we can see why that is true. Entertainment isn’t
entertainment without music and advertisement is not efficient with the lack of music.
Works Cited
Huron, David. "Music in Advertising: An Analytic Paradigm." Musical Quarterly
73.4 (n.d.): 557-74. Http://www.musiccog.ohiostate.edu/Huron/Publications/huron.advertising.text.html. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.