Mad Men and Mozart: A love story 

 

Editor’s note: Classical music of any kind often feels boring and inaccessible—but not with Advisory regular Narendra Kusnur, who offers fun and accessible guides to Western classical music, which has shaped movie soundtracks and top 40 hits alike.

 

Remember the iconic Titan ad with Mozart’s rousing melodies in the background? It was, for so many of us, our first taste of classical music. This month, Kusnur looks at how brands have always relied on classical music to set a mood and class up their product. From watches, cars, and perfumes to McDonald’s and Amazon—here’s a tale of classical music’s allure. 

 

Written by: Narendra Kusnur

 

*****

 

We’ve talked about this product in two earlier columns—one on symphonies and one on Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. But as they say, the third time’s the charm. So here we go once again, since this ad campaign is very relevant to this month’s subject. 

 

In Indian advertising, the Titan watches ad series is legendary. As mentioned in the two earlier columns, it uses the opening of Mozart’s 25th Symphony. Check out the original piece played by the Berlin Philharmoniker conducted by British maestro Trevor Pinnock.

 

Among Indian audiences, the Titan commercial is the most famous example of how the advertising world has used western classical tunes. Of course, it’s not a rare instance as, internationally, many agencies have jumped on to the classical brand-wagon, using symphonic and operatic works as inspiration. From chocolates to cosmetics, airlines to automobiles, they have intelligently handpicked tunes to go with a variety of products.

 

Of the composers, Mozart is obviously an adman’s favourite. Let’s check out some other ads using his tunes. There’s Hyundai’s Sonata car commercial, which has the line “Smart as a Sedan that’s music to the eyes”. The tune is Mozart’s ‘Piano Sonata No 11 – Rondo Alla Turca’. One needn’t watch a clip of an orchestra performing the piece—it’s a straight reproduction.

 

Watches and cars seem fine, but coffee? Clearly, McDonald’s wanted a lucrative sip from the Mozart flask. They chose the composer’s ‘Lacrimosa’ from his Requiem mass to create an ad for coffee, which they appropriately branded ‘Lacrimocha’. Here’s the Mozart piece played by Collegium Musicum Berlin, followed by the coffee commercial. 

 

 

The inspiration didn’t end there. The Nike athletic wear brand used the same composition for its ad, as seen here. Nobody has a ghost of an idea why these big names chose a funeral piece to sell their products.

 

By now, readers may be fed up of Mozart. Some may even scream, “Alexa, stop playing Mozart.” And this is how Alexa will respond.

 

That’s right. Even Amazon’s Alexa has used Mozart’s ‘Queen Of The Night’ aria from his opera Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute), before transitioning to disco queen Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’. For a taste of what Mozart’s original composition sounds like, here’s a performance by London’s Royal Opera, featuring German soprano Diana Damrau.

 

Besides Mozart, other composers have inspired the advertising fraternity. In India, Raymond chose German composer Robert Schumann to play in its commercials. The specific piece was ‘Traumerei (Dreaming)’, taken from his series Kinderszenen (Scenes From Childhood). Let’s listen to the original masterpiece, played by Russian-American pianist Vladimir Horowitz, and then see how the textile brand has adapted it to represent ‘The Complete Man’.

 

While Titan and Raymond are two Indian ads that have stood the test of time, the international advertising world is filled with brilliant examples. In fact, the global creative think-tank has a special fondness for Austrian composer Johann Strauss II. His waltz ‘An Der Schonen Blauen Donau (The Blue Danube)’ is not only one of the most overplayed classical compositions in elevators and hotel lobbies, but is also perhaps the most overused tune in TV commercials. YouTube lists numerous ads that use the famous piece. We begin by playing three. The Oreo cookies spot features three ballerinas, Emirates 88 has airline crew, and Sunkist juice uses apples in an animated film. They are fascinating examples demonstrating how the same music can promote products as diverse as, well, chalk and cheese.

 

Ford Fiesta cars tried to think out of the box when they created an ad inspired by ‘The Blue Danube’. ‘Gas’ what they came up with. 

 

What makes classical compositions popular among the ad creators? One factor is that they are orchestral in nature, and can be used appropriately to create the right mood or backdrop. Secondly, the portions chosen for commercials invariably have an element of drama, which enhances the effect of an advertisement. They are also cinema-friendly, in that they can be used to match visuals. The trick, of course, lies in selecting the right melody to go with the product. A bad choice may end up as a cam-‘pain’.

 

There’s no rule-book to tell you which category of products should use classical music. As seen in the earlier examples, Mozart and Strauss Jr have marketed a wide range of products. But the same type of brand may use a different composer or mood.

 

Take airlines, for instance. Emirates picked the popular ‘Blue Danube’. But British Airways chose a lesser known piece, ‘Flower Duet’ from 19th century French composer Leo Delibes’ opera Lakme, and gave it a modern twist, adding drums and synthesisers. Here are the original Delibes duet and the airline’s transformed song.

 

Classical music has also been used to promote fragrances, cosmetics, and personal care products. In India, many cinema-goers would have seen this ad for Old Spice after-shave lotion in cinema halls or on television some 40-45 years ago. 

 

The original, composed by 20th century German musician Carl Orff, is titled ‘O Fortuna’, and is part of his cantata Carmina Burrana. Here, we see the great Dutch conductor Andre Rieu conduct a performance in Maastricht, Netherlands.

 

Paco Rabanne’s Pure XS men’s fragrance uses French composer Georges Bizet’s ‘Habanera’ from his opera Carmen. Chanel’s No 5 perfume for women roped in actress Nicole Kidman, who posed against the backdrop of ‘Clair De Lune’ by Claude Debussy, also from France. Let’s see these ads.

 

From youthful and good-looking models, let’s move on to babies and the elderly. German composer Richard Strauss’s tone poem ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’ went perfectly with Pampers, whereas Italian genius Pietro Mascagni’s Intermezzo from the opera Cavalleria Rusticana was used to a crying grandmother in a Kleenex commercial.

 

Examples of western classical inspiration abound. Here, we shall take three more examples using fairly popular ads. Did someone ask why nobody used German legend Ludwig Van Beethoven’s extra-famous ‘Fifth Symphony’ opening movement? Well, technology company Intel used the tune for a campaign called Beethoven Experience Amazing, remixing the original. The result overflowed with intel-ligence.

 

Richard Wagner’s ‘Ride Of The Valkyries’, used so effectively in the Francis Ford Coppola film Apocalypse Now, has been smartly inserted into the ad for Maxwell hi-fidelity tapes. The original piece is a stunner, and for those who haven’t heard it, here’s a rendition by the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra conducted by American artiste James Gaffigan in 2021.

 

Finally, there’s the Cadbury Fruit & Nut chocolate commercial from 1977, where British media personality Frank Muir sang a specially-written fun song to the tune of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ‘Dance Of The Mirlitons’, part of his 1892 ballet Nutcracker Suite. Here, we look at the ad, followed by a performance by the Royal Ballet, London. And since Nutcracker is associated with Christmas time, this is the right ‘jingle’ to go with the bells.

 

If all that punning had an ad-verse effect, apologies are in order. But the inspiration obviously came from friends in the advertising world. As usual, we end with a list of compositions mentioned in this column.

 

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No 25, Movement 1
• Mozart – Piano Sonata No 11, Rondo Alla Turca
• Mozart – Lacrimosa from Requiem
• Mozart – Queen Of The Night from The Magic Flute
• Robert Schumann – Traumerei from Scenes From Childhood
• Johann Strauss Jr – The Blue Danube
• Leo Delibes – Flower Duet from Lakme
• Carl Orff – O Fortuna from Carmina Burrana
• Georges Bizet – Habanera from Carmen
• Claude Debussy – Clair De Lune
• Richard Strauss – Thus Spake Zarathustra
• Pietro Mascagni – Cavalleria Rusticana
• Ludwig Van Beethoven – Symphony No 5, Movement 1
• Richard Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Dance of the Mirlitons from The Nutcracker Suite

 

*****

 

Narendra Kusnur has been a music journalist for over 40 years—including a decade-long stint covering the beat at the Mid-Day newspaper. He currently writes for The Hindu, Free Press Journal, Hindustan Times, and Rolling Stone India—besides the in-house magazines of prestigious institutions—such as NCPA and Shanmukhananda Hall.