Music in Advertising that Attracts Undergraduates

Abstract

This study analyses some essential aspects of the music used in the audiovisual advertising most liked by university students. The results of a longitudinal study carried out at the Jóvenes Tocados por la Publicidad (‘Undergraduates Touched by Advertising’) festival are the base of this research, which has several different prize categories. We analyzed the nominated and winning advertisements from the last ten editions (2005-2016) of this festival in the ‘music and sound’ category, representing a total of thirty. To select the spots that achieved the best notoriety among the university students surveyed and to understand the reasons for this preference, we used a triangular methodology that applied both quantitative and qualitative methods. Our results confirm the value and transcendence of music in the production of audiovisual advertising that successfully attracts undergraduates; moreover, we observed that the originality or pre-existence of the music had little effect on their preference for the spots, but that the use of diegetic or extradiegetic music did affect its likelihood of being chosen. There was evidence that undergraduates most value music in advertising that causes them to have an emotional response, and that they prefer emotive and sensitive songs that bring some sense of depth. This target audience most appreciates music in advertising that is consistent with and adapted to the campaign’s message