Over the last few centuries, music has played a unique role: that of amusing the public by offering a product based on classical music, on melodrama or on songs, as we moved towards the early 20th century.
As the music market broadened, and consumerism based on new and almost hectic strategies appeared, with the purpose of improving selling opportunities for whatever type of product, everything started to change for the worse. In our times, no more barriers exist to bad taste. Everything is incorporated, digested and reutilised for market-related purposes and with a view to anything that may have an impact on image or involve financial advantages. If we take into account the advertising world, we shall be disappointed to find that even classical music has been raided unmercifully, thus depreciating a message that, throughout time had remained pure and uncontaminated, and had reached us in its original form. Well, this is now no longer possible, since the “creatives”, the “ideas men” have managed to “dig up” a mine that is still intact. Having discovered this bonanza, everybody have made a dive for Bach, Beethoven, Verdi and Puccini, with the purpose of “using” the most famous pieces to advertise noble and not so noble products. This is how we got to listen to Verdi’s most famous arias as a background music for the presentation of a famous brand of ham or cheese, or else to a fragment of Beethoven’s symphonies to advertise a brand of candies, or a passage from “Peer Gynt” by Grieg to emphasise the extemporary miracles of an oil which will make your paunch disappear. Now the problem can be broken down into two separate issues: a) we have pieces that are used without being manipulated at all. b) and we have compositions that are electronically manipulated. In the former case, the danger of perverting the truth lies in associating the composition to the advertised product. The outcome is definitely negative in that it sets a bad example, since the consumer will not get a chance to know the exact title of the piece. The educational “justification”, which many proclaim to be their merit, turns out to be a farce, disclosing, once again, a frantic interest by a market which, being short of ideas, turns towards a type of music which the majority of the population is not familiar with. So it comes naturally to us to question: “Why do advertisers use classical music, which the mass of population dislikes?” Quite simple. Let us not forget that “first of all” the pieces that are chosen have always been famous, and even if only by chance, we have all had the opportunity to listen to them. In addition to these, we have a choice of pieces that create an atmosphere, that fully blends with the images you are being shown. It would be desirable that, in future, “creatives” informed their consumers, by clearly indicating the title of the piece they are using, thus offering adequate information which, even though very far from an educational concept, may offer the people who are listening to and viewing the commercial the opportunity to know which piece is being played. This would make it an “intelligent” and possibly more acceptable commercial. The second category stands out as the most tragic one! Plagiarists will not content themselves with merely using the piece, but will alter the hard-fought work of classical and operatic composers by manipulating it electronically, trying to “modernise” the product, by making it “fashionable”, that is abounding in those diabolic and ear-splitting rhythms typical of disco music or of the most aggressive type of “rock” music. In this case the “plagiarism” has no justification whatsoever. We are faced with a legalised type of theft, where the cultural message is violently trampled on. The wildest form of consumerism comes out the winner and the classical world comes off almost annihilated. All this proves the collapse of cultural barriers, by generating a positive cooperation activity with all other worlds, but in fact insiders’ desire for cooperation is only apparent. The only outstanding result is unfortunately attained within the advertising market; for the umpteenth time, the classical music sector gains no advantage. The public does not acknowledge the musical message in its intact form, but listens to a distorted product, which retains the ‘skeleton’ of the original piece, deprived of its most important parts. The only acceptable sector remains the cinema industry, where classical music is most times given hospitality in its original form, thus generating an excellent artistic outcome. In conclusion, we would advise the various advertising agencies to use classical music in a wise manner, by broadening the repertoire and acquainting the listener with equally remarkable pieces, even though not as well known. The advertising and television medium is the most effective in making known the product to be sold. Let us ensure it is accompanied by quality music: this will also render a service to our culture, which is so poor, in a century that is so complex and fraught with ugliness.

Translated by Interpres sas