The shortcut great ads already know
Nobody needs to be taught how to feel about a song they already love. That is the whole trick. When a brand licenses a track people know by heart, or a voice they recognise in two words, it skips the hardest part of advertising: earning attention from a standing start. The emotion is pre-loaded. The memories already exist. Your product simply moves in.
For marketers under pressure to make every media pound count, that head start is worth paying for.
Why familiarity does the heavy lifting
Creative effectiveness specialists System1 have observed that switching one soundtrack for another can shift an ad from 3-Star territory to an exceptional 5-Star score. The same analysis points to songs with melody and lyrics as more effective than purely rhythmic tracks, drawing on Orlando Wood’s research in Lemon.
Voice follows the same logic. A System1 study reported by Cumulus Media | Westwood One found that host-voiced ads earned an extra star rating among podcast listeners, with a happiness score roughly double that of the general population. A familiar, trusted voice carries credibility a stranger has to work for.
Three ways to license talent into your campaign
The track. A sync licence for an existing hit gives your ad instant recognition and an emotional shorthand no original jingle can match on day one.
The voice. A recognisable artist, presenter or athlete narrating your spot turns a voiceover from background into a reason to listen.
The artist. This is where most brands stop short. Licensing the song is one thing. Bringing the person behind it into the campaign turns a soundtrack into a story.
Tesco: a 1990 hit becomes a price message
Price promotions are hard to make memorable. Tesco’s answer was a song everyone already knew. Its BBH-created Clubcard campaign, “The Power Within”, ran across TV, print, radio and social from July 2023. Shoppers spotting a Clubcard Price at the checkout suddenly burst into the hook of Snap!‘s “The Power”, much to their own surprise. MN2S worked on the Snap! side of the campaign.
The results speak for themselves. System1 named it Ad of the Week, with the version featuring an elderly couple scoring 4.3 Stars alongside strong short-term Spike and Brand Fluency scores. Its verdict: the more unlikely the singer, the better the ad works. A 33-year-old track turned a discount into entertainment.
The Pukka Pies playbook
When Pukka launched its Chicken Vindaloo Pie, its hottest pie yet, there was only ever one soundtrack: “Vindaloo”, the 1998 Fat Les terrace anthem. But the brand did not stop at the licence.
MN2S booked Fat Les frontman Alex James to front the campaign, and the partnership grew into a full launch platform. The Blur bassist delivered interviews, social content and a bylined feature for Rolling Stone UK. He then headlined three “Pukka Pies presents BRITPOP with Alex James” nights at the Lost Oasis in Trafalgar Square, each on the eve of an England World Cup group match, complete with a DJ set and pie samples from the Pukka Pies Kitchen.
Trade coverage followed across The Grocer, Talking Retail, Better Retailing and PRmoment. One song. One artist. A product launch, a live event series and a press cycle, all pulling in the same direction.
Where licensing deals stall
Getting a famous song into an ad is rarely a single phone call. Rights can sit with several parties, and every deal needs agreement on usage, exclusivity, term, media and territory. Samples inside a track may need clearing separately, or cutting altogether.
Then there is the human side. Artists care how their work is used. A pitch that respects the song and the fanbase gets a very different answer from one that treats it as wallpaper. That is why the smoothest deals run through people who already have relationships on both sides: with the artists and with the rights holders.
Your shortlist is bigger than you think
The songs that work hardest in ads are the ones that already own a moment in people’s lives. Think of the ’90s dancefloor: Snap!’s other giant, “Rhythm Is a Dancer”, or Livin’ Joy‘s “Dreamer”. These are tracks with decades of goodwill built in, from artists who can step into a campaign in person, on stage or on mic.
The question is not whether a famous track will lift your ad. It is which one fits your brand, and whether the artist behind it can take the campaign further.
The moment to act
Every brief has a song that would make it unforgettable. The brands that win are the ones that secure it, and the talent behind it, before anyone else thinks to ask.
If you have a track, a voice or an artist in mind for your next campaign, start the conversation with our team today.