It would be impossible to deny the emotive qualities of music. At a time when a lot has been said about how brands must strive to create emotional connections, I can’t think of a more powerful way to connect with consumers to further enhance a story. The history of brand advertising is scattered with examples of creative concepts that have been beautifully paired together with music. Such ads have captured our imagination, been debated endlessly among industry circles, and in some cases, even catapulted little-known artists out of obscurity, and into the limelight.
While the original thinking behind these ideas are merit-worthy alone, I can’t help but think that the narrative is only really complete once the music kicks-in. It’s moments like these that will forever be ingrained in our minds thanks to the perfect unison of vision and sound, matched with creativity that simply takes your breath away.
If music is the key to amplifying the impact of a narrative, then the skill behind track selection is the essence of musical finesse, discernment and an ear for the novel. Nowhere is this done better these days than in television and film, as I was recently reminded again when Liza Richardson’s name popped up during the closing credits of the HBO hit show Looking. Liza’s evocative selection of music – from the use of Erasure’s cult classic ‘A Little Respect’ in season one, to cleverly incorporating Sister Sledge’s disco anthem ‘Lost in Music’ during the season two opener, is a master class in how to augment an unfolding storyline with poignant lyrics. Case in point, playing the melancholy sound of ‘So Now You Know’ by The Horrors as we witnessed the emotional turmoil of Jonathan Groff’s character during the closing sequence of episode three, was just pure poetry. Marketers, take note.