Fly Me To The... High Street?

A few days ago Marks & Spencer launched their TV marketing campaign with a glossy TV advertisement featuring the classic swing number 'Fly me to the Moon'.  Catchy musical soundtracks are the the backbone of this type of TV blockbuster.  But whereas in the past the advertisers wanted to get people humming the tunes, now the key it to encourage them to share the whole thing via social media.  3 days since the launch and M&S have had 2.5 million viewings.

So, how does this work as an advertisement and as a piece of music?

The music works alongside the visuals quite expertly, as if the advert was directed to the music. As the advertisement starts, the pizzicato strings instantly create a happy, playful and exciting feel which is also added to by the upbeat tempo & drums. The increased intensity of the music at 0.14 creates a sense that something exciting is going to happen which is peaked by an upward piano glissando which is depicted in the visuals by the fairies taking flight. It is only at this point that the vocals enter as they begin “flying to the moon”.

Each section ends with a bar of music based in minor (at 0.25, 0.40 and 0.55). At each of these points something sad/ bad is happening within the advert which is then fixed by the fairies and their magic. These points are also resolved musically by returning to the root (major) chord, giving a feeling of relief. The lyrics in the final of these sections (0.55) also coincides with the visuals in the line "I love you" (1.31).

A possible suggestion for the overall meaning of the advert could be how Christmas used to be such a magical time but that has somewhat changed in recent years and we need a reminder that it still can be just that. This is also replicated in the music, a re-mastered/ re-recorded version of the original song, slightly changing it, but it is still the same classic piece of music.

The creative elements are crucial within this advertisement.

OK, so if this works for fashion, food and lifestyle stuff, how can we make sense of the same music being used to promote a car?  Ford featured the same music on their ads for the Probe back in 2007 in the US, having already used it in the UK.

This advert links back to the theory of cognitive dissonance, where the actual meaning of a song is lost in the context it is presented. In this advert it is somewhat implied that the meaning of the song is directed towards the car - that the car can take you to places you've never been before. Similarly to the M&S advert, the upbeat tempo is replicated in the fast car. It is also worth noting that the light-hearted, upbeat and popular song changes the meaning of what would otherwise be quite a dark themed advertisement about aliens, abduction etc. (As does the joke at 0.13 as the "probe" drives into Area 51...)  

It was also used by FAW Benteng to promote their car.  Their version, though, featured Frank Sinatra's slightly slower tempo recording of the song.