‘Ssh. Hold on a minute. I love this ad - well, I know it’s only for a
building society, but I just love the music. It’s sort of pop, you know,
ambient handbag techno or whatever it’s called, with that eerie ‘world
music’ singing on it. Babba-babba doo-wey aaa ya-ya, yayaoow. It makes
me feel like I’m in a pygmy village sacrificing a British Airways
traveller. Is it by Enya? No, perhaps it’s Enigma. Babba-yadda buu-
wayeee...’
What is the logic behind this tosh? It seems that any ad for a company
that wants to promote its ‘you’re safe with us’ or ‘aren’t we greener
than our competitors?’ attributes uses this method. An international
identity is more difficult to engineer, I feel, than commissioning a
soundtrack.
Where does the mid-90s craze for sticking a faux-tribal track over wide-
angle shots of azure skies and shoals of fish come from? And to promote
what? Flipping pensions! By giving an ‘ethnic’ feel to an ad’s music,
agencies expect a green credibility for their client - well, they’re
falling rather short of bearable, let alone credible. Don’t just make
another tune like Soul II Soul crossed with a New Age relaxation tape,
credit the unwashed with a little more sophistication.
So, if you think swing is a 40s jazz-dance trend, or Nicolette is that
nice girl who does your service wash, don’t expect young(ish) people to
relate to your campaign. As for that chanting rubbish, anyone who makes
it, or even likes it, ought to be strung to a pole and left in some very
deep forest or other.
Send your rants to Belinda Archer, Campaign, 174 Hammersmith Road,
London W6 7JP
