Note to Teachers: Parts of the content of these programs
may be found, in many communities, to be inappropriate for classroom use
because of references, consistent with the era, portraying sexual, political,
and violent lyrics and acts. Many sections, however, provide educational
content to enhance the music and interdisciplinary curriculum. Please
review this program before presenting it to your students and choose sections
that enhance your curriculum and are acceptable for use in your classroom.
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Behind
the Music 2000
VH1 Music Studio
Cable in the Classroom
Lessons for Middle and High School Music Classes
(Lessons can be adapted based on the level of students)
Lesson 2
Music in Advertising |
Objectives
- Students will discuss the influence of music in advertising, and
the effect of advertising on music and the artists
- Students will discuss ways in which artists have adapted to the
changing marketplace in order to achieve success
National Standards 6, 9 - Listening to, analyzing, and describing
music; Understanding music in relation to history and culture
Materials
- VHS VCR Player
- Television
- VH1 Behind the Music 2000, entire third segment
- Web-based lesson materials
- Teacher selected recording of Aaron Copland's "Rodeo",
or other highly recognizable piece used in advertising
Procedures
- As students enter the classroom, have Aaron Copland's "Rodeo,"
or a similar piece of music, used in a current commercial advertisement.
- When students are seated, ask them what they first thought of when
they came into the room. (Students will probably connect "Rodeo"
to the beef ad campaign, or ad in which the selected piece was heard.)
Ask students if they know the title of the piece of music, and the
composer.
- Lead students in a discussion about the importance of music in advertising.
Explain that music has been used for decades to market products, and
suggest a few companies that have had memorable jingles, such as McDonald's,
Oscar Mayer, etc. Suggested activity: Demonstrate to students how
music helps to influence a potential buyer by singing the beginning
phrase of a commercial jingle most likely to be recognized by today's
students (Chili's Restaurant "Baby back ribs…",
Burger King Restaurants "Have it your way…at Burger King
now!", Campbell's "Mmm, Mmm, good", McDonald's
"We love to see you smile!", etc.) Have the students name
the product or company, and/or sing the next line of the jingle in
response.
- Show Behind the Music 2000, entire third segment.
- Lead students in a discussion about the idea that music is a product
and the marketing of it is as important as the music itself. How has
music become "like a product" (advertisements for recordings,
commercials, groups created by record companies to meet a "need",
videos, "packaging" of artists, etc.)? What characteristics
of an artist attract people so they become "fans"? Is it
their look, their style of dance, their costumes, their musical style,
their musical talent? Are there any groups or artists they feel would
not have made it without marketing their "image?"
- Guide students in an evaluation of the effect of radio play on the
career of an artist. Use the statistics below as needed. Do all artists
fall into a category? Do the students discover artists primarily by
hearing their music on the radio? Are there other venues through which
they find musical interests?
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Percentage of All Commercial
Stations in the Nation's
170 Largest Markets
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Jazz/new age
Classical
Religion/gospel
Nostalgia/big band
Hispanic
Middle of the road/full service
Easy listening
Black/urban
News/talk
Country
Album rock/classic rock
Top 40/contemporary hit radio
Adult contemporary/oldies |
1.6%
1.6%
2.1%
3.3%
3.4%
4.4%
6.2%
9%
9.9%
11%
13.5%
15%
18.6%
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Excerpted from Music! Its
Role and Importance in Our Lives,
by Charles Fowler, copyright 1994
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- Lead students in a discussion about corporate sponsorship and promotion
using well-known athletes, musicians, celebrities, etc. How does commercial
advertising with Olympic athletes, for example, compare to advertising
with pop artists? Why would some people consider this "selling
out"?
- Artists such as Moby have allowed companies and filmmakers to use
their music in their films and advertisements. How has this affected
their popularity? Ask students if they feel that promoting their music
through these other markets is a successful alternative for today's
artists. Is there a difference between an artist being approached
by a corporation to advertise a product through performance or use
of their music, and an artist approaching a company and offering their
music for use in one of the company's commercials? Is this a
positive or negative direction for the music industry to be pursuing?
- Divide students into small groups, and assign each group a product
currently on the market (restaurants, foods, personal items, automobiles,
etc.). Ask students to write a commercial for the product, using the
music of the artist or composer of their choice. Encourage them to
think beyond pop music, and try to include classical artists, jazz
musicians, musical theater, etc.
- Ask students to present their ideas to the class, explaining their
reasons for choosing that particular artist or music. Is it because
of their popularity, musical style, talent, look, audience they reach,
etc.?
VH1, in partnership with Cable in
the Classroom, collaborated with
MENC: The National Association for Music Education to develop this series
of lessons.
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