Pimp My Track

A few years later, this time in 1908, Jack Norworth's composition 'Take Me out to the Ball Game' again featured a brand [Cracker Jack]: Take me out to the ball game/ Take me out with the crowd / Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack...

Both instances are the earliest references to product placements found in musical compositions, most likely not the first recorded instances, but as it turns out - most certainly not the last.

Product placement is an indirect, subtle marketing method whereby recognizable brands are represented in cinematic films, television serials, lyrical content and music videos.

In these contexts, the trend is more commonly referred to as branded entertainment and dates back to the 1950's, tracing its roots to the film 'The African Queen', when Gordon's Gin paid to have Katharine Hepburn's character toss loads of their product overboard.

Branded entertainment is an increasingly popular marketing strategy, with the greatest number of product placements occurring in reality programs; The Contender scored a total of 7.514 placements in 15 telecasts, averaging 500.9 individual product placements per episode! 

Since 1903 however, name-brands have been dropped in countless musical works, even appearing in song titles from Run-DMC's 'My Adidas' to Busta Rhymes' 'Pass the Courvoisier'. And unlike Jack Norworth, modern day artists are being commissioned by the big brands to feature their products in their musical content.

According to a report by Wayne Friedman [2005] - one of the fastest-growing media areas of branded entertainment is songs and music videos; branded entertainment in recorded music was valued at an estimated $25.5 million in 2004, up 23.4% versus the year before.

Product placement in music proves to be a less intrusive form of advertising, providing catchy lyrics that consumers can identify with and sing along to.  If the brand fits with the lyrics and lifestyle of the artist, it can add a sense of authenticity to the track, conveying the essence of the genre.

The hip hop genre comes up trumps in terms of branded music and using product placements in lyrics and music videos. According to research by American Brandstand, it really is no wonder why.

The American Brandstand group monitors and tracks the mentions of brands in the Billboard Top 20 singles chart and whilst the statistics remain largely unscientific, they're a social barometer measuring brand relevance in music.

The groups' findings reflect that branded music is used to convey status and reinforce artists as brands themselves, especially since many of the brands mentioned in lyrics are associated with prestige, aspiration and luxury. And since hip hop is largely about defining ones status in the 'hood, it makes sense that this musical genre will use brands as metaphors more than any other.

The relationship between hip hop artists and brands is somewhat symbiotic; as the brands mentioned in any given track are often part of the lifestyle of the very rapper doing the name-dropping. Artists align themselves with global brands that audiences instantly recognise as prestigious or as cool-by-association.

Hip hop provides the perfect playground for 'branded' music. Combine the fact that hip hop generates an estimated $2 billion in sales a year, ranks behind rock 'n' roll as the second most popular genre in America with the fact that it is representational of a pop culture that audiences can identify with - and you've got yourself some mighty favourable marketing conditions.

With product placement in music extending its scope from lyrical content to inclusions in music videos, ask not what the brand can do for the artist, but what the artist can do for the brand. In July 2005, Missy Elliott featured the Jeep Commander in her video for the track 'Lose Control.' Chrysler subsequently negotiated an extension of that particular video for the promotion of the SUV in an effort to paint a street-smart attitude for the vehicle; 30 seconds of unique music was created by Elliott for the spot.

There are two basic means through which product placement in music can occur. Artists can name-drop a brand of their preference to suit the context of the lyrics / music video without being commissioned to do so or arranged product placement deals can take the form of trade-offs or financial agreements between record labels, producers, individual artists and the commissioning agency.

When approached with a product placement proposal, artists have the choice of selecting a trade-off or financial compensation in return for integrating the brand into their lyrics / music videos. A trade-off would entail a brand being integrated into musical content for which the artist receives a supply of the brand. Trade-offs can be likened to endorsements, where artists endorse a brand such as Nike orReebok and are then compensated with a supply of footwear. 

When the artist or record label gets paid, the compensation agreement then becomes a financial one; there is currently no law against music labels taking money from corporations who want their brands associated with artists' songs.

In 2005, fast food giant McDonald's launched a campaign that offered financial incentives to rap artists who mentioned its Big Mac burger in their lyrics. McDonald's hired Maven Strategies to negotiate product integration into upcoming songs, looking to compensate artists between $1 and $5 each time a track with the McDonalds' brand received airplay.

Artists are usually given free, creative reign of the process of how to integrate a brand into their music but in an instance where artists are commissioned to feature a brand in their lyrics, the advertising corporation [McDonalds] reserves the right to approve / disapprove the final lyrics.

Maven Strategies experienced success the previous year [2004] with its Seagram's Gin campaign, managing to integrate the brand into five rap songs from the artists Kanye West, Twista, the Franchise Boys and Petey Pablo.

Petey Pablo's 'Freek A Leek' was subsequently listed as the second best  hip-hop song of the year, according to the Billboard Top 50 hip hop songs of 2004, and played over 350,000 times on the radio. The lyrics included: Now I got to give a shout out to Seagram's Gin / Cause I'm drinkin' it and they payin' me for it.

Interestingly enough, record labels commonly charge for a brands appearance in a music video, but not in lyrics; incidentally the most brands ever mentioned in one song - Lil' Kim's 'The Jump Off' - totals fourteen brand names. 

An entire industry including corporate marketing agencies and personnel is now dedicated to brokering product placement deals in music.  Marketing firms such as Maven Strategies scout for product integration opportunities and receives a consultation fee for its services. Compensation for artists varies per product placement agreement; the general trend is for music acts to receive compensation as and when the branded track receives airplay, limiting out of pocket costs to the client.

Whilst it isn't illegal, the debate rages on as to whether branded entertainment in music is ethical.  Arguments suggest that branded music compromises the artists' credibility, creating the impression of pandering to commercialism when money exchanges hands such as in the instance of paid for placements. 

Whatever the argument, product placement in music arguably lends itself to creative expression, interesting lyrical content and appealing music video material. However annoying the practice may become, product placement in music is currently an officially acceptable form of marketing, yet the question remains as to how effective the practice actually is.

Current methods for measuring product placement in music videos are in the pipeline, including the Preva method. Preva evaluates qualitative and quantitative aspects of product placement in music videos using gross rating points such as products and logos appearing in music videos, placement within the video, and 'hands-on' use of the brand, taking the audience factor, broadcasting frequency of the video and its popularity into account.

Another product placement measurement system called iTVX intends on evaluating a matrix of 50 variables, including foreground vs. background and audible vs. visual in an attempt to derive a ratio indicative of effective / ineffective brand placement in music videos.

In the meantime, Courvoisier has reportedly enjoyed a sales boost in the U.S. and Europe after Busta Rhymes' “Pass the Courvoisier” was released. Hennessy also shows no sign of losing relevance as a staple of hip-hop lyrics from Tupac to The Ying Yang Twins; the brand’s success in the US is spreading globally in other markets.

Hennessy drinkers in Europe are reportedly increasingly younger with each passing year, and China and Eastern European markets are booming as a result of the brands hip hop appeal; all this, despite general trends in consumer research indicating that branded entertainment still has a long way in terms of positively influencing consumer habits.

And Music Industry Online's favourite branded track of all time? 'Summer Girls', by the Lyte Funky Ones!

Graphic statistics and lyrics courtesy of American Brandstand.

 

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