#WBD Blog

The Power of Music in Advertising

Music in advertising has become more than just an accompaniment, it's a brand decision that can have significant commercial impact. Magnum's 'Designed for Pleasure' campaign in 2026 has featured Courtney Barnett's raw, propulsive song 'Pedestrian at Best' - a move away from the luxurious alignment. The track's energy (urgent, irreverent, instinctively physical) was precision-matched to a brand built on sensory indulgence.

There's is a long history of advertising campaign songs becoming chart hits: from Coca-Cola's 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing' to more recent examples where the soundtrack becomes as talked-about as the product. Famous since the 1980’s, in 2024 Gillette featured Tom Rennan singing 'The Best a Man Can Get', generating enough public demand for an official release.

The right track gives a brand an emotional charge and builds brand distinctiveness. Choosing the right music is now absolutely critical for making a commercial brand statement

For most of us music creates a soundtrack to our lives. It is evocative and nostalgic. A trigger for memories – good and bad. A signifier of people, time and place. A background hum as we work, rest and play (with or without a Mars bar in hand!). It is intrinsically emotional.

Successful brands create emotional connections beyond the quality of their products. No-one argues anymore that the best ads are emotional, delivering engagement beyond the functional value of the featured product benefits. Few disagree with the conclusions from the fabulous work of Jenni Romaniuk on DBAs (Distinctive Brand Assets) and how they are essential to building brand memory.

There is a Venn diagram where these two thoughts collide. The brand can create a fresh, vibrant context for the music. The music is a powerful opportunity to deliver emotional connection to a brand. It has the power to link – to borrow - real ‘life’ and authentic emotions for a brand. Often subliminally. This builds memory and creates repeatable opportunities that brands can leverage.

It does not need to be a game changing, culturally powerful moment like the original Coke ad, or the power of BA’s first use of the majesty of classical music to be distinctive and maximise their quality cues. Sometimes, it is just about being aligned, in the right place at the right time, to evoke a cultural connection. Do this relentlessly and sometimes you might create a DBA type connection between and established cultural power of music and your brand – it is the centre of the Venn. It must always be based on fit and credibility, but since brands and music both inhabit a meaningful cultural continuum... anything is possible!

... and that can never be a bad thing!