The total investment by Jovan to have their name on tickets and posters? $1 Million.  For this the Rolling Stones heard cries of “sell-out” from their fanbase but ultimately this introduced a whole new way of associating music with a brand.

By the way, the cost of the recent Blackberry/U2 sponsorship?  $150 Million (reportedly)

Enjoy the vintage poster!

Jerry put me in touch with Tom Pratt, the Executive Creative Director on Crayola at McGarry Bowen and we had a discussion about these music choices.   Music branding experts profess that the right song has to tell both the commercial’s story as well as the brand’s story.  “Crayola is a storytelling brand,” begins Tom, “and the right music helps tell that story.”  I wanted to know specifically what it was about these songs that made them a natural choice for these spots. The songs “not only helps reflect the idea of Crayola as a innovator of new ways for kids to express themselves,” he said, “it also reflects it’s relevance to a new generation.”

As an avid consumer of online music blogs and websites, I was aware that the Crayola spots had been covered on some pretty cynical websites (Stereogum, Pitchfork) who were largely supportive.  I asked Tom how conscious McGarry Bowen and Crayola were of the underground appeal of these artists. “Crayola is all about creative energy, exploration and discovery,” said Tom, “and our music choices were meant to help reflect that.”  As to whether appealing to cynical hipsters was part of the strategy, Tom admits they “were very pleasantly surprised at the warm acceptance of our efforts by the music community.”

Historically, from Nick Drake (VW) in the late 90s to Phoenix (Cadillac) today, ad agencies have a love affair with up-and-coming or underground artists but how much of it has to do with each client?  ”Crayola does have an adventurous spirit and a genuine interest in being experimental in the ways it reinforces itself as a creative brand,” said Tom, “(and) that spirit is reflected in all the ways it sets itself apart from other toy brands.”

Tom concluded, “We like to think that we are joining hands with new up-and-coming bands to bring their creativity, and ours, to a new audience.”

Crayola Glow Station Spot
Music by Dan Deacon

We have often thought that a music strategy that looks to the brand’s attributes to find the right musical voice is a seperate marketing idea than a simple celebrity endorsement but in cases like the above (and the Christine Aguilera/Target partnership, for instance), these two ideas have converged.

Is there a difference between Music (Sonic) Branding and Celebrity Endorsement?  Are cases where the two converge an easier sell to marketers and branding folks?

We would love to hear from a variety of marketing and branding pros what you think – please chime in.

Did a Marketing Director at Polaroid just lose their job to Lady Gaga?

Or is this just a substitute for “celebrity endorsement”?

Should we shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture?

None.  Even though Petra Haden, Matt & Kim and Shiny Toy Guns got more than one mention, there was no clear winner.  Read the lists below and let us know what your favorites were!

- AD TUNES TOP AD MUSIC OF 2009
– TV AD MUSIC’s BEST AD MUSIC OF 2009
– SPLENDAD’s TOP AD MUSIC OF 2009
– FOUR OH SEVEN’S TOP 5 COMMERCIAL SONGS OF 2009

Bonus Lists!:
– BILLBOARD (ALSO ADWEEK) 15 BEST USES OF MUSIC IN THE 2000’s
- MUSIC-ALLY TOP BRANDED MUSIC APPS OF 2009

1 – Stone Roses – Stone Roses Reissue
2 – Florence + The Machine “Lungs”
3 – Mayer Hawthorne “A Strange Arrangement”
4 – Miike Snow “Miike Snow”
5 – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros “Up From Below”
6 – Deastro “Moondagger”
7 – Antony & The Johnsons “The Crying Light”
8 – The Generationals “Con Law”
9 – Mexican Institute Of Sound “Soy Sauce”
10 – The Phenomenal Handclap Band “The Phenomenal Handclap Band”

As year-end “best of music” lists collect in your inbox and articles recapping the entire last decade clutter your web browser, it seems there is some excitement starting to form around this industry we call home (whether we call it music branding, sonic branding or audio branding is another topic altogether.)

Recently, everyone has been talking about the power of music to tell a brand’s story and over the last year, those discussions have crescendo-ed into a roar. (Please pardon the music puns.)

In fact, Adweek & Brandweek alone have run a whole host of interesting looks at music branding this year:

- TRENDS IN MUSIC BRANDING

- ADVERTISING IS THE NEW RADIO

- SWEET HARMONY FOR BRANDS, MUSICIANS

- HAS MUSIC BECOME DEVALUED AS A BRANDING TOOL?

- BRANDS URGED TO ENGAGE MUSIC FANS

Not too mention that this year saw the launch of the first Audio Branding Conference, the first Social Network for Music Branding Professionals and a brand new music service designed for brand-sponsored playlists.

All this points to the fact that more and more brands are taking music seriously as a part of their marketing platform. Couple that with a recovering economy and I predict that 2010 will be, to quote one of my favorite films, “The Year That Music Branding Broke.”

Having been pioneers in music branding/sonic branding for years (see Martyn Ware and Sonic Identity, the work of North & Hargreaves, etc), they are continuing to lead the pack. In the last two weeks alone, some amazing thinking has poured out from our forward-thinking colleagues in Europe:

- Audio Branding Congress - the first ever music/sonic branding conference took place last week in Hamburg.
– Social Music – Heartbeats International unveils a new study on Social Media and Music Branding.
– The sound of COP15 - a new sonic logo discussion with Nikolaj Abrahamsen from Sonic Branding.

Brilliant American companies like The Playlist Generation, HumIt, Elias Arts, Rumblefish and more are just starting to see traction of this idea in the States but we Yanks must keep moving the ball forward or risk falling behind.

It’s a simple banner, essentially, that retailers can post on their sites which encourage people to buy giftcards or CDs as holiday gifts.  Retailers who want to learn more and spread the love, can download the elements here (for free, of course).

Check out our favorite online retailers this holiday season:
– Othermusic
– Beatport