This is how they do it

Brandweek,  Oct 26, 1998  by Paul Sexton

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In The U.K.

Spots Drive Singles Drive Spots

LONDON--The advertising-agency men and women who choose the music that accompanies Britain's most high-profile TV and movie-theater commercials have a power to create hits that most record-company A&R executives can only dream of.

The most lucrative alliances between pop stars and products may be the longer-term endorsement deals signed by established artists such as the Spice Girls and Boyzone with Pepsi-Cola. But many other acts have advanced their careers with a shorter-term commercial marriage, while advertisers have used the power of pop to their advantage as well.

The U.K. is much more willing and able to exploit the relationship between music and marketing than the U.S., where, from the artist's viewpoint, soundtrack placement holds far greater cachet. And, once a song is exposed regularly via ads to a prime-time audience, a U.K. radio programmer is more likely to play the track when a single is released.

TIGHT RADIO AND JEANS

The ability of ads for jeans and beer to create hit singles on the British chart is well known. But more recently, products ranging from athletic shoes to automobiles to soft drinks have given pop careers a jump start, while the relationship gives ad campaigns a competitive edge.

The ever-tightening formats of British radio--and restricted opportunities to expose music on television--also have created an environment in which artists and songs often need a magic ingredient for success, and a commercial tie-in often provides it.

So it was that Ladysmith Black Mambazo reached the U.K. top 30 last November with "The Star And The Wiseman" after its appearance in a TV spot for Heinz beans. Elvis Presley's "Always On My Mind" went top 20 all over again in 1997 via a British Telecom commercial, and in '96 the Who sang not to their generation but a whole new one in the name of Walls Calippo ices.

The symbiosis of ads selling bits and hits selling ads is long-established in the U.K. and became prevalent in the 1970s, when a rewrite of a Coca-Cola commercial became a major international hit for the New Seekers (as "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing") and David Dundas turned a jeans jingle into "jeans On" for his moment of pop glory.

But it was in the 1980s that the marketing of Levi's jeans created a British chart phenomenon. Levi's became known in the second half of that decade for using pop and soul classics in its campaigns, introducing them to a new audience and selling a lot of trousers in the process. Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World" and Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" thus became major hits again in 1986. and the following year Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" topped the charts.

TRAINSPOTTING AND TRUCK DRIVING

Now, more sophisticated advertising campaigns by Levi's and others often feature new talent and sometimes have commercials written to fit the music. However, some see the selection of a new artist for commercial exposure as a double-edged sword. A number of baby acts have struggled to follow their "ad song" success, including Stiltskin, whose "Inside" was a U.K. No. 1 in 1994, and Smoke City ("Underwater Love," 1997).

The advertising executives who have the power to fashion such hits-and often change the careers of the artists who sing them-are concerned foremost, of course, with the success of their clients' products.

"It's a question of whatever works with the [ad]; it's never done with the intention of making a hit," says Philippa Crane, TV board producer at Bartle-Bogle-Hegarty, the agency responsible for the Levi's account. "I do get sent a lot of CDs, and I do listen to them. It's like looking at directors' reels. I like using new talent; it makes the wheels keep turning."

BITTERSWEET SYNERGY

Virgin Records' London office has a Sound To Vision department dedicated to placing songs with advertising agencies. The department's Jules Bain notes such successes as placing music by Massive Attack in Adidas' soccer World Cup campaign and music by the Chemical Brothers with Pirelli Tyres. "The more techno-oriented bands are quite happy to have their music used," she says, "but we also have acts like the Verve and Embrace who don't like it."

The Verve's distaste for any such association led to controversy over their "Bittersweet Symphony" hit, publishing rights of which they were obliged to yield to ABKCO because of an ABKCO-owned Rolling Stones sample in the track. This allowed a U.S. campaign by Nike to use the song without the Verve's permission, while a U.K. commercial for Vauxhall used a note-for-note re-recording that, again, the band was powerless to stop. The Verve voiced disapproval of the placement and the product at a large outdoor homecoming concert it headlined in Wigan.

Steve Hills, creative licensing manager at EMI Music, says the music publisher aims to be as active as possible in placing songs with agencies. "But the reality is, it's more the agency than us, because they have their creative teams. We earn from the use of the track in the commercial, although the singles market is a loss-leader for the record company. The real potential is in the subsequent licensing for compilations, where the [U.K.] market is enormous."