The Psychology of Music and Advertising: How Music Affects Our Brains

Music can influence our emotions and behaviors in ways we may not fully realize. From the fast-paced guitar riffs of The 1975 to the slow-romantic love songs of Ed Sheeran, music has a deep effect on our brains. This power of music can be utilized in many fields and practices, but advertisers should use music strategically to evoke certain feelings and emotions to enhance a brand’s image.  How does music affect our brains, and how can advertisers use this to their advantage?

Image sourced from X.

How Music Affects Brains

Music stimulates multiple areas of the brain, which influences our emotional and behavioral patterns. Patrick Whelan, an instructor at Harvard Extension School who teaches a course called Music and the Mind, shares his teachings in a feature article for Harvard Medical School Magazine. “There's an incredible complex sound signature all around you,” Whelan says, “The brain has to sift through all the ambient noise in a concert hall. It’s a much more primitive form of listening compared to a focused conversation,” (Eck, 2024). Whelan states that the sounds we hear during a live performance travel through the ear and into the temporal lobe, where we identify the sound signature as familiar or unfamiliar. We respond to these sounds emotionally which influences the autonomic nervous system (ANS), a network that controls involuntary processes like breathing and heart rate. Music lights up almost all of the brain, including the hippocampus and amygdala, which activate emotional responses to music through memory, the limbic system, which governs pleasure, and the body’s motor system. “This is why it’s easy to tap your feet or clap your hands to musical rhythms,” says Andrew Budson, Chief of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System (Eck, 2024). Since so much is happening when music is on, it creates an immersive and enriching experience.

Music and Advertising

So why is learning about the ways music affects our brains so important when it comes to advertising? Well, music is more than just a background—it’s a tool that can tap into the emotions, memories, and behaviors of consumers. For example, Apple’s First Macbook Air Commercial, released on January 15, 2008, features the song “New Soul” by Yael Naim. The light, catchy melody enhances the feeling of simplicity and elegance of the Macbook Air’s slim design. The upbeat rhythm and uplifting mood of the track match the cut-on-action clips in the advertisement. The choice of music was key in representing the product and Apple as a brand, by creating an emotional connection with the audience and the feelings that the song evokes.

Another example of music playing an important role in advertising is through Canon’s Live for the Story advertisement using the song “You and Me” by The Wannadies. The video follows a character from childhood to adulthood, focusing on capturing life’s precious moments through photography. The music has an uplifting and reflective tone, but also, the lyrics talk about wanting to step into fear and life’s hardships by embracing them as what makes us who we are. The end of the ad ends with the lyric “I wanna be happy, I wanna be free, who cares what they say, because I'm doing me.” This choice of lyrics is put over the character running by the side of horses, which symbolizes the desire to run free wherever life takes us.

Music and Our Lives

As we come to the end of this musical journey, I’d like to share my views on how music shaped my life through personal experiences. Growing up, I was surrounded by music, often listening to my dad play The Beatles through his surround sound system in our living room. However, I discovered my own connection to music in high school as I discovered artists such as The Weeknd, Joji, Harry Styles, and LANY. Yet, it wasn’t until I encountered the Korean indie-rock band The Rose that my entire perception of music shifted. At first, music was a way to escape, but listening to their debut EP VOID, made me feel a sense of comfort and security. In their first studio album HEAL, lead singer and guitarist Woosung shares that music is healing. You can watch him talk about this here on their 2022 Heal Together World Tour in Manila. Ultimately, music can connect all of us, heal emotional wounds, and help us remember all of the important moments in our lives.

About Alex

Alex is a junior studying Advertising and Public Relations (with a PR emphasis) and Business Management. This is his first semester as an Account Associate with GrandPR where he's dedicated to learning about the Advertising and Public Relations field as senior year approaches. He has a passion for photography and music and loves spending time with friends and loved ones.