TV Ads Favor Latest Indie Music
Execs Look to Indie Stars for Advertising Help
Television ads have always utilized jingles to hock their wares but recently Madison Avenue has been looking to the indie music scene for help in promoting their product.
It is hardly breaking news that the good people on Madison Avenue are using music in an attempt to make a positive, lasting impression regarding their products, but it seems that now, more than ever, mega companies are looking to underground bands such as Feist or the Guy Noir rather than the Top 40 for help. While Missy Elliot (Doritos), John Mellencamp (Chevy), and Mary J. Blige (iPod) might be part of the conversation, artists such as Mates of State and The Weepies have been making the biggest splashes in the marketplace.
A cursory glance at the December Billboard Hot 100 reveals some interesting figures. Though Alicia Keys, Souja Boy, Good Charlotte, and Finger Eleven all rank among Billboard's current Top 40, only Keys has made the TV ad cut, while The Weepies (41), Feist (109), and The Go! Team (87) are on the outside looking in regarding album sales.
It would seem to make the most sense for an ubercorporation to tap the most popular bands to hype their products, but this is clearly not the case as obscure and underground acts are securing some of the more premium advertising spots, selling everything from cars to sweaters.
Perhaps the current influx of indie bands on the small screen is the result of companies wanting to promote themselves as the next hippest thing at the same time jockeying for a spot as the best kept secret in town. Or maybe the ad gurus know that the current consumer culture craves whatever is new, innovative and exciting, not wanting something they've "already heard."
Whatever the reason, artists that otherwise might linger in obscurity such as Band of Horses (Ford) or Guy Noir (Target) are getting their chance to shine, making the avid music fan the ultimate winner in the battle for super cool supremacy. Though some bands have turned large advertisers away, as was the case with Band of Horses and Wal-Mart, according to a recent Rolling Stone article, many indie bands are making a name for themselves in a surprisingly mainstream way.
Top 5 "indie bands" from the Tube:
- Hem - Half Acre (Liberty Mutual)
- The Weepies - All that I Want (JCPenny)
- Bloc Party - So Here We Are (Saturn)
- The Go! Team - We Just Won't Be Defeated (Target)
- Gary Jules - Mad World (Gears of War/PS3)
Top 4 Up-and-Comers:
- Mates of State - For the Actor (Verizon Wireless)
- Forever Thursday - How Can it Be (JCPenny, again)
- The Bird and the Bee - LaLaLa (Apple)
- Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am (Old Navy)
