Music placement in Indian television advertisements

Music is very popular in advertising. When watching television, it is almost impossible not to be inundated by a profusion of music in advertising. This research analyzed 245 prime-time television commercials to not only quantify, but qualify the placement of music in advertising. This study facilitates future trending and encourages further investigation of the role of music in advertising effectiveness.

This research analyzed one hundred and four minutes of prime-time television commercials from STAR PLUS channel in India to determine not only the frequency with which different type of music is placed in commercials, but also, when employed, various aspects of the relationship between the advertised product and the type of music accompanying it. As a central theme, this research examines how music is currently being used in prime-television commercials, and whether or not there are patterns for the inclusion of this music, especially with respect to how it may be contextualized. A number of variables pertain to standard music-genre distinctions, questions of instrumentals versus vocals, original recordings versus new versions of older songs (covers), or silence versus background, generic music beds or needledrop, jingles etc.