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Musical Skills
Approaching Composition for Commercials
Music is a unifying and liberating campaign element. I helped
create the ‘‘Best Part of Wakin’ Up’’ campaign for Folgers Coffee.
The signature music gave us flexibility and infinite variety, and it
allowed us to immediately own the advertising in any media.
—Arthur Meranus, former creative director of Cunning-
ham & Walsh, former creative director of N. W. Ayer,
and former global creative director of DMB&BMusical styles have been associated with creative and sociological aspects
of society throughout most historical periods. Musical periods are usually
referred to by the same names given to art, architecture, and other defining
elements; the classical, baroque, and romantic periods or the music of the
1950s and 1960s are several examples. Popular song lyrics reflect the times.
During wars, patriotic songs and antiwar songs define generations; for
example, songs about drugs define much of the 1960s and 1970s. Dances
also reflect the times; for example, swing music and the Lindy Hop charac-
terize World War II, and the trend continued into the 1950s with the found-
ing of rock and roll. In the 1960s, the tremendous influence of the Beatles
was not limited to their music. The Beatles were equally influential in
shaping the youth culture of the Western world. These musical examples
are used by advertising agencies to generate ideas for commercials.Satur-
day Night Feverdefined not only the disco era of the middle 1970s but also
a specific lifestyle—that of a working-class family in New York. A majority
of commercials depict contemporary society as the focal point of the
advertising. This is reflected in the musical, cinematic, and sociological
content of a commercial.
It is advantageous for commercial composers to have a thorough
knowledge of popular music as well as traditional ‘‘classical’’ training
(historic periods) and also ethnic music of various cultures. Understand-
ing music history helps composers guide advertising agencies in the selec-
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