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The Emotional Impact of Background Music in Film and Advertising

This overview delves into the significant role background music plays in shaping emotional responses and memory recall during film and advertising. It explores how music can enhance or diminish affective impacts, influence audience expectations, and guide attention to visual stimuli. Citing studies by Thayer & Levenson (1983) and Marshall & Cohen (1988), it emphasizes the effects of congruence and incongruence between music and visuals, as well as the implications for memory processing and advertising effectiveness. The findings highlight the need for strategic music selection in media to optimize emotional engagement.

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The Emotional Impact of Background Music in Film and Advertising

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  1. Music, Attention, Affect • Background music • Expectations about future outcomes • Enhance/reduce affective impact of activities • Affective reactions • Cognitive processing activities • Memory recall

  2. Music and Activity • Foreshadowing or accompanying • Congruent or incongruent • Expectation of events • Memory of events • Commonly used in film, theatre, opera, etc.

  3. Effectiveness • Thayer & Levenson (1983) • Background music and behavioural effect • Monitored physiological (GSR) reaction • Film on industrial accident • Relaxing “documentary” or “horror” music • Higher physiological arousal with horror music • Music alters degree of internal arousal

  4. Effectiveness • Marshall & Cohen (1988) • Film of moving geometric figures (2 triangles & circle) • Personality traits associated with figures (Heider & Simmel, 1944) • Affective impressions of figures changed with background music • e.g., large triangle more “agitated and aggressive” with louder, more active music; smaller triangle more salient with “weak” music • Mood dimensions of music direct viewers’ attention to figures’ activity levels

  5. Boltz, Schulkind & Kantra (1991) • Background music and film scenes • Music either: • Accompanied scene’s outcome • Accentuated affective meaning • Foreshadowed the scene • Created expectations about future course of events • Congruent or incongruent with events of scene

  6. Memory Recall • Expectancy violations from mood-incongruent relations --> better recall in foreshadowing condition • Mood-congruent relations --> better recall in accompanying condition • Selective-attending processes

  7. Memory Assistance • Scenes not recalled on recognition task • Details recalled when cued by background music

  8. Perceptual Processing • Pre-attentive processing • Break perceptual input into units • Direct attention to relevant stimuli • Gestalt psychology • Applicable to audiovisual objects • Music paired with visuals

  9. Music in Commercials • Contextualizing element • Interpret images in ways consistent with music • Help organize complex imagery • Extract salient details from background “noise”

  10. Teaser Ads • Television ads • Highly visual • Limited explanatory content • Rely on imagery to induce attitude to brand • “Mickey-mousing” • Film scoring technique • Visual action mirrored/paired with auditory track

  11. Hung (2001) • 30 sec. TV ad for upscale Singapore shopping mall (Raffles) • Attractive young men & women, formal dress, in studio settings • Paired with one of two music tracks • Vivaldi’s L’Amoroso in E-major or Garbage’s Supervixen

  12. Results • Music produced differences in affective state • Questionnaires for image and emotion scale • Vivaldi • “Successful”, “imaginative”, “calm” • Garbage • “Daring”, “annoying”, “boring” • Music affects meaning perceptions

  13. Focus Group Discussion • Raffles-Vivaldi • Upscale & exclusive; darker; designer boutiques • Raffles-Garbage • Youth, “in mall” for 20-30 year olds; brighter • Music tempo • Same for Vivaldi and Garbage • But Garbage perceived to be faster • Carried over to RG commercial; scene cuts perceived as quicker

  14. Knowledge Attribution • Vivaldi = Baroque, Garbage = Brit pop • Association source? • Vivaldi due to music or subjects’ (18-22 year olds) conditioned expectations? • e.g., Classical music “old and stuffy” • Hung suggests two music selections should come from same genre

  15. Sexual Appeals • Overt sexual information • Images and/or verbal elements (US) • Nudity, behaviour, physical attractiveness, double entendre, etc. • Evokes sexual thoughts, physiological response, and/or affect (UR --> CR)

  16. Picking Your Target Audience • Difficult to utilize sex appeal across sexes in same ad • e.g., female • e.g., male

  17. Perceptual Processing • Sexual content reduces viewers’ perception and/or processing of brand • Attention directed at sexual content • Ad does attract attention, just not focused on the product

  18. Emotional Impact • Positive correlation between positive arousal from sexual content and ad evaluation • Influencing factors • Gender, explicitness of appeal • Attitudes influenced by relevance of sexual content to product

  19. Elaboration Likelihood Model • ELM used to understand role of sexual appeals in persuasion • Persuasion along a continuum of elaboration • Central route processing • Persuasion from extensive issue-relevant thinking • Sexual content distracts from effortful elaboration • Lack of consideration of brand

  20. Highly Attractive Models • Studies show humans prefer attractive to unattractive people • Attractiveness as US • But, research on the effectiveness of HAMs in advertisement is inconsistent

  21. Convergence • Convergence of product and message communicated by model’s image • Model-product match-up • Traditional view: HAMs most effectively matched with attractiveness-relevant products • But: different types of attractiveness-relevant products may not all work with HAMs

  22. Methodologies • Older studies • HAMs vs. unattractive models (UMs) • More realistic, ecologically valid approach • HAMs vs. normally attractive models (NAMs)

  23. Bower & Landreth (2001) • HAMS and NAMs • Different types of attractiveness-relevant products

  24. Topics of Investigation • Beautiful people perceived as having better, trouble-free lives • NAMS may fit better with problem-solving attractiveness-relevant products • Does model-product matching influence ad effectiveness through product argument or from model credibility?

  25. Issues • Model attractiveness and trustworthiness • Model expertise for attractiveness-enhancing vs. problem-solving products • Matching model with product information

  26. Design • Lipstick and jewelry as enhancing products • Acne medication as problem-solving product • HAM and NAM photographs • 250 female subjects • Survey forms

  27. Results • HAMs well suited to pairings with attractiveness-enhancing products • HAMs and NAMs equally effective in ads for problem-solving products • Kahle & Homer (1985) showed attractive celebrities more effective for selling razors • Confound? • No correlation between trustworthiness and attractiveness

  28. Laneige • Advertisement • Comment?

  29. Baker & Churchill (1977) • Model/product match-up • Mock print ads • Variables • Male & female models • Coffee vs. perfume/cologne • Subjects’ sex

  30. Results • For female subjects • Product type and physical attractiveness had no effect on purchase intention • For male subjects • Affected by female model attractiveness • Moderated by product type • Attractiveness-unrelated (coffee), unattractive female model --> higher purchase intention • Attractiveness-related (cologne), attractive female model --> higher purchase intention

  31. Decorative Models • Model irrelevant/unnecessary • Smith & Engle (1968) • Sexy vs. unsexy model with automobile • Sexy model makes male and female subjects rate car as more: • Appealing, lively, youthful, faster • Steadman (1969) • Mock advertisements with erotic/non-erotic models • Erotic ads inhibited delayed recall (7 days)

  32. Match-up? • Paris Hilton

  33. HAMs in Marketing • Negative consequences? • Body image issues • Negative feelings

  34. Do Women Care? • Richins (1991) • Young adult females • Half compare themselves frequently with models in clothing & cosmetics ads • One third report the ads produce personal dissatisfaction with their own appearance • Ingrassia (1995) • ~90% of white junior & high school girls have some level of dissatisfaction with weight

  35. Transfer? • Negative feelings from HAMs • Affect on brand? • Transfer? • Female consumers have complained of HAM use • Special K models • Calvin Klein jean ad use of Kate Moss • Culture jamming (Ad Busters)

  36. Social Comparison Jealously (SCJ) • Jealousy and envy produced by comparison to perceived superior • Negative effects • Depression • Helplessness • Desire for revenge • Frustration • Anxiety

  37. Behavioural Consequences • Derogation/disparaging of comparison other • Attempt to preserve self-esteem

  38. “What is Beautiful is Good” • Dion et al. (1972) • College men and women • Physically attractive people have more socially desirable traits • e.g., strength, sexual warmth, sensitivity, kindness, poise, modesty, better character • Belief: beautiful people lead better lives • SCJ may attenuate this belief

  39. HAM Derogation & Endorser Effectiveness • Negative feelings from SCJ • Impact on HAM effectiveness? • Derogation of HAM at: • Individual level • Effectiveness as persuader • HAM works on product via: • Spokesperson expertise and/or • Product effectiveness argument

  40. Bower (2001) • Hypothesized effects of negative affect from HAM SCJ Model expertise Negative affect Product evaluation Product intention Product Argument evaluation

  41. Study 1 • 130 undergraduate women • HAM and treadmill photo • Measures for • Model beauty • Subject comparison • Negative affect • HAM expertise • Product assessment • Derogatory assessment

  42. Comparator/Non-comparator • Does the subject compare herself to HAM? • If yes • Increased negative affect • Decreased evaluation of HAM as credible spokesperson & product argument • If no • No SCJ effect

  43. Study 2 • Treadmill might have biased toward body image • 110 undergraduate women • HAM and hair highlighting kit photo • Relative few comparators • Comparators find model more attractive than themselves and show negative affect • Not significant effect on product vs. non-comparators

  44. Conclusions • Comparator/non-comparator important • If comparator, SCJ of HAM has negative impact on brand • Should be somewhat cautious of results • Model type • Product • Race of subject and model

  45. Societal Marketing • Social causes • e.g., Conservation, equal rights, etc. • Public service announcement (PSA) • Increase public awareness • Change beliefs, attitudes, behaviours • Observed by large cross-section of population • “Help-self” (use fear) or “help-other” PSAs

  46. PSAs and Sexual Content • Sexual content increases attention to ad but interferes with product knowledge • PSAs poorly remembered and often ignored • Can sexual content increase attention to PSAs?

  47. PSA and Sexual Content • Israeli beach

  48. Reichert, Heckler & Jackson (2001) • Sexual and non-sexual PSAs for 13 social marketing topics • e.g., healthy eating, reading, HIV prevention • Mock print ads • Dominant visual, headline, core message • Images of heterosexual couples from photo archives • Sexual or non-sexual visual and headline

  49. Measures • Questionnaires • Thoughts and cognitions • Free responding immediately after viewing each PSA • Persuasion and communication • Attitude, belief, and behavioural intention scales • Measures of attention, interest, impact on thinking about topic

  50. Results • Sexual PSAs generate more favourable execution-related thoughts than non-sexual PSAs • Sexual and non-sexual PSAs generated same level of message-related thoughts • Sexual PSAs stimulated less elaboration (e.g., additional thoughts on topic) than non-sexual PSAs • Subjects were more likely to agree with PSAs using sexual appeals

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