A content analysis of music placement in prime-time television advertising

Music is very popular in advertising. You can hear as much music in commercials as you can on some commercial radio stations. This research analyzed 3,456 prime-time television commercials to not only quantify, but qualify the placement of music in advertising. Overall, 94 percent of the total advertisements (3,456) and 86 percent of the unique advertisements (715) contained some type of music. Of the unique music advertisements, 14 percent contained popular music, 81 percent used needledrop, and 5 percent utilized jingles. Popular music (primarily pop and rock) was observed more often in automotive, audio/video, and food commercials than any other product category. Popular music was more likely to be relevant to the narrative in the commercial than the product or service. This study facilitates future trending and encourages further investigation of the role of music in advertising effectiveness.