U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

HOMETOWN U.S. A. commercial clinic Divided Opinion on Relationship Of Jingle Producer and Agency What is the proper relationship that should exist between the advertising agency and the outside organization providing the nuisic lor radio commercials? There appears to be some divided opinion among jingle producers as to the answer to this cjueslion. Some jnoduccrs tee! tiiat in order to lunction most efficiently, they must be brought in at the earliest possible stage ol planning a campaign and play a major role in the creation of the original idea. There are others who believe that it is their function to support and more fully develop with music the idea which is presented to them by I he agency. A firm which has successfully subscribed to I he second approach is Music Makers, Inc. "In the creation of any successful announcement using music, two elements must always be present," says Herman Edel, executive vice president of the firm. "The idea is the first element. And it is our feeling that this miist come from the agency. We base this on the simple fact that the agency knows the product involved and the objectives of the advertiser to an extent which wovdd be impossible for us to be able to match. As a matter of fact," Mr. Edel continues, "although Ave can and do prepare Ivrics as well as the music, we will often encourage the agency copy people to prepare the lyrics. Here again, our reasoning is that the agency is in by far the best position to deliver the advertising message. "The second element, of course, is the music. If properly used, music will enhance a good idea. It can never, however, repair or substitute for any basic faults or flaws in that idea." Mitch Leigh, the young president of Music Makers, and the man directly involved in creating the nmsic, points out that the nmsical idiom used in a commercial must be honest and accurate. "Today, you can't get by with music that either looks up to or down on tlic listener. For example, if the jingle is being directed to youngsters and rock and roll is Ijeing employed, it nmst be genuine and iip-to-dalc. The rock and roll being heard now is different than it was two or three years ago. .And if your jingle doesn't reflect the change, the youngsters spot it immediately. When this happens not only does the music do nothing to help sell the product, it might even create a negative effect that could be detrimental," Mr. Leigh says. An Emotional Image "In the 20 to (30 seconds in which a spot announcement has to get across its message," Mr. Leigh explains, "there is usually only enough time to create an emotional image of the product. If the music is performing its proper function, it will be able to help produce a favorable climate of emotional involvement with the listener." The musical jingle, through the efforts of organizations like Music Makers, has developed from its early form of a combination of simple and easy to remember music and lyrics to efforts that require the use of .S5piece orchestras. The musical forms used today, Mr. Leigh points out, vary from advanced progressive jazz to country and western rhythms to lush mood music to symphonic. "Because a tune is simple and easy to remember," he sas, "it does not guarantee that it will help create a response iliai will aid in doing the one thing wiiich a jingle is supposed to do — help sell the product." New Department In addition to the growing number of advertisers who are using music in their campaigns, many radio stations are also turning to this lively art to assist in creating and maintaining their indi\idual images. As a result of this increasing activity, Mr. Edel states, his firm has just established a special division to work w ilh radio slaticms. "Each campaign will be ( uslom-made lor the station," he says, "and we will apply the same principle of creating a distinctive sound lor each individual pioduct, in this case a radio station." It is very possible for a musical commercial to contain all the proper ingredients, in the proper amounts, and still not produce as it should, Mr. Leigh says, if the final transcription does not have the (juality to bring out everything which was played at the recording session. He mentions that commercials are often played between commercial records of the highest (juality. If the music on the spot announcement is not on a par with the rest of the music heard on the program, the entire message is in danger of being diluted in its effectiveness. Indications of how far jingle producers have progressed in recent years are the expanding physical facilities of Music Makers, and the stejtdiiv climbing revenue. In 1957, Mr. Edel says, the firm grossed $100,000. Last year, the firm grossed S600,000, with every expectation that this year's figures will continue the upward trend. • • • 48 U. S. RADIO October 1960