We take a look at the best uses of electronic music in TV advertisements.

 
Occasionally, an advert break on TV can be brightened up by a blast of a great electronic music track. Here at MN2S, we provide sync and licensing services for independent record labels as part of our label services, so we know a thing or two about great electronic music in ads. Here are some of our favourites.

1. TIEKS feat. Dan Harkna – ‘Sunshine’, FIAT 500

 

 
TIEKS is one of the UK’s hottest DJ/producers at the moment, and a lot of that is down to the success of this year’s MInistry of Sound release of his track ‘Sunshine’. Featuring vocalist Dan Harkna, ‘Sunshine’ was in fact released in 2015, but it was the new release and the feature in the Fiat advert that brought it to wide public attention.

Music fans were delighted with what they heard, scrambling to Shazam the track on their phones before the 20-second slot was up. The song went straight to the top of Shazam’s hugely competitive TV Ad Chart, racked up millions of streams across all platforms, made the playlists of all the major radio stations, and climbed the UK Top 20. ‘Sunshine’ became one of the songs of the summer 2016, and its use in this Fiat advert was a huge factor in this.

2. Dirty Vegas – ‘Days Go By’, Mitsubishi Eclipse

 

 
‘Days Go By’ by UK trio Dirty Vegas was a substantial success in 2001, but it became inescapable one year later when it was used in a Mitsubishi automobile commercial. The song came to be used in the advert after a Mitsubishi advertising executive saw its music video in a US hotel room and personally tracked the trio down afterwards to get permission to use it. Needless to say, Dirty Vegas gave their consent and the rest is history.

The song is a major part of the ad, with a woman in the passenger seat dancing along to it with surprisingly elaborate moves for someone confined to a car. Its popularity led to the song’s release to all the biggest US radio stations, and its inclusion on countless compilation CDs, played in cars worldwide, Mitsubishi or otherwise.

3. Leftfield – ‘Phat Planet’, Guinness

 

 
Guinness’ ‘Surfer’ advert is one of the most dramatic to grace our screens. The ad has clear artistic ambitions, from its attempt a meaningful poetry to its highly stylised black and white visuals from indie darling director Jonathan Glazer.

The most effective part of the advert is the music. Leftfield, of course, gained massive exposure from the use of their track ‘A Final Hit’ in the hit film Trainspotting in 1996. Their music’s use in the ‘Surfer’ advert is equally dramatic. Punchy, distorted bass builds tension during the surfing, until the soundtrack starkly cuts out as the waves come crashing down.

4. Daft Punk – ‘Digital Love’, Gap

 

 
Gap’s ‘Digital Love’ advert, like Mitsubishi’s ‘Days Go By’ advert, is an example of a commercial based on a song. The ad stars who we can only assume are the real Guy-Manuel and Thomas from Daft Punk, dancing to their own track in what we can only assume is Gap denim. They are joined by actor Juliette Lewis, again likely in Gap jeans, who delivers some dance moves not dissimilar to those of the woman in the Mitsubishi advert, though this dancer lacks the excuse of being in a car.

5. Run DMC & A-Trak – ‘Unite All Originals’, Adidas

 

 
Run DMC have been singled out as the fathers of hip-hop sneaker culture, largely thanks to their hit 1986 song ‘My Adidas’. This 2013 advert saw Rev Run and DMC teaming up with A-Trak to create a brand new 30-second song in praise of the group’s favourite sports clothing brand.

This ad doesn’t just rely on the song, it also relies on the band. The real Run DMC and their cartoon likenesses tower above the streets in the advert wearing, of course, their Adidas. What else?

MN2S Label Services can help you with everything from digital music distribution to sync arrangements to license your music for television advertisements. Visit our label services page to find out more.