Timeline: The History of Music in Advertising

Courtesy of Podbean

The use of music in adverts is nothing new. Since the beginning of television, music has always been heavily relied on to create a certain mood, make the ad memorable or just act as background noise. But it didn’t start there, before the invention of television, radio also relied on music for its advertisements in the form of jingles. Want to learn more about the history of music in advertising?

Well who needs a time machine when you can see it all with a timeline? Here is one I have produced below...

1920s – Radio broadcast was born

1922 –The first paid radio commercial was aired on August 28^th by WEAF, South Carolina. It advertised WestStar Mortgage. The advert did not feature any music and was just simply a woman narrating. Listen to the advertisement below:

 

Compare it to radio advertisements today, do you think it would be successful in today’s media?

1926 - Jingles began

A jingle is a short tune that contains lyrics specifically to advertise a product. The first radio jingle was by Wheaties which aired on Christmas Eve. It features four male singers encouraging listeners to try Wheaties; have a listen below:

Although the music is very dated compared to jingles you hear now, it is still very similar in the way jingles are made. Jingles like these are very successful as they make listeners remember the product and even gets them to sing along so it is always stuck in their mind.

  

1934 - Muzak, the leader in "business music" services was founded.

1936 - Television began broadcasting in the UK.

 

Bulova advert; courtesy of Wonderwatches

1941 – The world’s first television advertisement was broadcast in America on July 1^st. The advert was for Bulova watches and was only 10 seconds long. It simply featured an image (right) with a voice saying the brand's slogan, "America runs on Bulova time." The ad cost Bulova $9 to broadcast which today sounds like a bargain, but back in those days $9 was a lot of money.

1944 - The Chiquita Banana jingle was broadcast, which is rated by Times magazine as the no.1 jingle. The jingle is very catchy and the lyrics advise consumers on various ways they can eat the bananas. The advert that was broadcast in movie theatres which features the same jingle that can be seen below.

1955 – The UK was extremely far behind America. A staggering 14 years later the first UK advertisement was broadcast for Gibbs SR Toothpaste on 22nd September. Compared to the first advert that was broadcast in America it is certainly more advanced. It is very similar to adverts that you see today. It also features some classical music which acts more as background music, but it seems to fit natural mood. See the advert below:

1970s - Ronnie Bond, a jingle writer, created many well-known jingles such as Bran Flake's "Tasty tasty, very very tasty" and Coco pops' "I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops."  

Birds Eye logo; courtesy of Glueisobar

1973 – The first paid radio advertisement to be broadcast in the UK is believed to be over 50 years later than America. It was for the well-known Birds eye. Unfortunately the advert is nowhere to be heard, but according to Mutley works it was very dated for its time.

1980s - Children became a target audience for advertisers; advertising children's toys during cartoons.

1985 - The death of the jingle. Advertisements developed more into full-fledged songs.

1990s - Television advert breaks extended to 12-15 minutes per an hour long programme.

21st Century - Jingles make a comeback. There are various adverts which feature jingles in the present day. On the radio you can hear the jingle which the majority of you will have heard; "Autoglass repair, Autoglass replace." On television one of the most popular jingles is for We buy any car. If you haven't heard it, where have you been hiding? Check it out below:

 

Just like the jingles from the early years of radio advertising, the jingle is very catchy and most certainly remains embedded in your memory.

After looking at this timeline it is obvious that the use of music in advertising has not changed dramatically, it has just become more modernised. Most of the history mentioned occurred in America as the UK seemed to be very far behind. If you want to see a timeline that is even more in depth than mine then go to Stay free magazine. I got a lot of my research from this website.

Did you find this timeline interesting? Or maybe know of some key events I have missed out? Then please leave your comments below.