HF1520z The Persuasive Role of Music in the Commercial

Faculty of Music
Winter 2022
Extent and Intensity
1/0/1. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Paul Christiansen (lecturer), doc. PhDr. Petr Lyko, Ph.D. et Ph.D. (deputy)
doc. PhDr. Petr Lyko, Ph.D. et Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Petr Lyko, Ph.D. et Ph.D.
Music Theory Department – Dean’s Office – Faculty of Music – Janáček Academy of Performing Arts
Supplier department: Music Theory Department – Dean’s Office – Faculty of Music – Janáček Academy of Performing Arts
Timetable
Tue 16:00–17:35 ONLINE, except Mon 19. 12., except Tue 20. 12., except Wed 21. 12., except Thu 22. 12., except Fri 23. 12.
Prerequisites
English language ability (approximately CEFR Level B2).
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 6/20, only registered: 0/20
Course objectives
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the phenomenon of music as a persuasive tool in television or internet advertisements. Students will likewise learn critical analysis of advertising practices in the context of rhetorical persuasion generally and musical persuasive appeals specifically.
Learning outcomes
Following this course, students will be able to:
- Critically analyze rhetorical and aesthetic appeals to persuasion in television and internet advertisements,
- Explain how music interacts with visual and other aural phenomena to create a persuasive message to the viewer,
- Analyze psychological, aesthetic, musico-theoretical, and semantic aspects of ad music,
- Orient him- or herself in the scholarly literature devoted to this issue.
Syllabus
  • Week 1 (4 Oct.) – Introduction to the topic of music in commercials
  • Week 2 (11 Oct.) – How Music Works in Commercials
  • Cook, Nicholas. “Music and Meaning in the Commercials.” In Analysing Musical Multimedia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 3-23.
  • Berger, Arthur Asa. “Chapter 9: Analyzing Television Commercials.” In Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture: Advertising’s Impact on American Character and Society, 2nd ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004), 139-59.
  • Week 3 (18 Oct.) – Foundations of Persuasion
  • Aristotle. “Book 1, Chapter 2: Definition on Rhetoric; Pisteis, or the Means of Perusasion in Public Address; Paradigms, Enthymemes, and Their Sources; Common Topics; Eide and Idia.” In Aristotle on Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse, trans. George Kennedy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 36-47.
  • Haskins, Ekaterina V. “Endoxa, Literate Categorization, and the ‘Available Means of Persuasion.’” In Logos and Power in Isocrates and Aristotle (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), 23-30.
  • Haskins, Ekaterina V. “Chapter 4: Between Identification and Persuasion.” In Logos and Power in Isocrates and Aristotle (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), 80-107.
  • Week 4 (25 Oct.) – Would Packard Drive a Packard?
  • Packard, Vance. “Chapter 1: The Depth Approach.” In The Hidden Persuaders (New York: David McKay Company, 1957), 3-10.
  • Packard, Vance. “Chapter 21: The Packaged Soul?” In The Hidden Persuaders (New York: David McKay Company, 1957), 200-07.
  • Week 5 (1 Nov.) – Theoretical Underpinnings I
  • Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 282-89.
  • Horkheimer, Max and Theodor Adorno. “The Culture Industry as Mass Deception.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 1037-41.
  • Week 6 (8 Nov.) – Theoretical Underpinnings II
  • Baudrillard, Jean. “The System of Objects.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 408-20.
  • Fiske, John. “Television Culture.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 1087-98.
  • Week 7 (15 Nov.) – Hard Sell, Soft Music
  • Killing Us Softly 4 trailer (available on YouTube)
  • Catch up day
  • Week 8 (22 Nov.) – The Responsive Chord and the Music of Neoliberalism
  • Schwartz, Tony. The Responsive Chord: How Media Manipulate You: What You Buy…Who You Vote For…and How You Think, 2nd. ed. (Coral Gables, FL: Mango, 2017), 77-103.
  • Taylor, Timothy D. The Sounds of Capitalism: Advertising, Music, and the Conquest of Culture (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012), 231-46.
  • Week 9 (29 Nov.) – Political Advertising: The Art of the Possible Lie
  • Christiansen, Paul. Orchestrating Public Opinion: How Music Persuades in Television Political Ads for US Presidential Campaigns, 1952-2016. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018, 10-30.
  • Christiansen, Paul. “‘It’s Morning Again in America’: How the Tuesday Team Revolutionized the Use of Music in Political Ads.” Music and Politics 10 (2016). Available online.
  • Week 10 (6 Dec.) – The Influence of Technological Progress
  • Fink, Robert. Excerpts from Repeating Ourselves: American Minimal Music as Cultural Practice (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), 10; 78-9; 135-40; 156-59.
  • Katz, Mark. Excerpts from Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), 1-2; 57-60.
  • Week 11 (13 Dec.) – Media Ethics (and Other Oxymorons); Tying Up Loose Ends
  • Packard, Vance. “Chapter 23: The Question of Morality,” in The Hidden Persuaders (New York: David McKay Company, 1957), 219-29.
  • Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin, 1985), 3-15; 155-63.
  • Week 12 (3 Jan. 2023) – Student presentations
  • Week 13 (10 Jan.) – Student presentations
Literature
  • Aristotle. “Book 1, Chapter 2: Definition on Rhetoric; Pisteis, or the Means of Perusasion in Public Address; Paradigms, Enthymemes, and Their Sources; Common Topics; Eide and Idia.” In Aristotle on Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse, trans. George K
  • Taylor, Timothy D. The Sounds of Capitalism: Advertising, Music, and the Conquest of Culture (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012), 231-46.
  • Packard, Vance. “Chapter 23: The Question of Morality,” in The Hidden Persuaders (New York: David McKay Company, 1957), 219-29.
  • Horkheimer, Max and Theodor Adorno. “The Culture Industry as Mass Deception.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 1037-41.
  • Cook, Nicholas. “Music and Meaning in the Commercials.” In Analysing Musical Multimedia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 3-23.
  • Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin, 1985), 3-15; 155-63.
  • Christiansen, Paul. “‘It’s Morning Again in America’: How the Tuesday Team Revolutionized the Use of Music in Political Ads.” Music and Politics 10 (2016). Available online.
  • Fiske, John. “Television Culture.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 1087-98.
  • Haskins, Ekaterina V. “Chapter 4: Between Identification and Persuasion.” In Logos and Power in Isocrates and Aristotle (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), 80-107.
  • Schwartz, Tony. The Responsive Chord: How Media Manipulate You: What You Buy…Who You Vote For…and How You Think, 2nd. ed. (Coral Gables, FL: Mango, 2017), 77-103.
  • Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 282-89.
  • Haskins, Ekaterina V. “Endoxa, Literate Categorization, and the ‘Available Means of Persuasion.’” In Logos and Power in Isocrates and Aristotle (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), 23-30.
  • Fink, Robert. Excerpts from Repeating Ourselves: American Minimal Music as Cultural Practice (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), 10; 78-9; 135-40; 156-59.
  • Katz, Mark. Excerpts from Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), 1-2; 57-60.
  • Baudrillard, Jean. “The System of Objects.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rifkin and Michael Ryan (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 408-20.
  • Packard, Vance. “Chapter 1: The Depth Approach.” In The Hidden Persuaders (New York: David McKay Company, 1957), 3-10.
  • Berger, Arthur Asa. “Chapter 9: Analyzing Television Commercials.” In Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture: Advertising’s Impact on American Character and Society, 2nd ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004), 139-59.
  • Packard, Vance. “Chapter 21: The Packaged Soul?” In The Hidden Persuaders (New York: David McKay Company, 1957), 200-07.
  • Christiansen, Paul. Orchestrating Public Opinion: How Music Persuades in Television Political Ads for US Presidential Campaigns, 1952-2016. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018, 10-30.
Teaching methods
Lecture, discussion (online), viewing and listening of assigned A/V ads, study of assigned readings, oral presentations (online), and office hours (online).
Assessment methods
Credit. Evaluation will be made based on fulfillment of homework and course-related tasks such as a final oral presentation (online). Individual readings are subject to change and updating by the instructor before the start of the course.
Language of instruction
English
Teacher's information
Nota bene

Individual readings are subject to change and updating by the instructor before the start of the course.

Course Description

Through assigned readings and the viewing of numerous television commercials, we will address the topic of music as a persuasive agent in television advertising. I have chosen from a wide variety of sources to compile the readings for this course. Sources include articles from scholarly journals, excerpts from scholarly and popular books, and magazine articles about the rhetoric of persuasion, advertising in general, television advertising in particular, and most specifically, the role of music in television advertising. Part of the purpose of this course will be the honing of your critical thinking skills as you negotiate through the readings. “Consider the source” will be one of our tenets. Who is the author of what we are reading? What is his or her agenda? What are the author’s qualifications for making his or her claims? How does the author use evidence to support the points made? Some of what you read may infuriate or challenge you; other readings might illuminate or inspire you. If any of the readings or discussions we have prompt anyone to contemplate and explore this issue further after the course has ended, then I will truly feel that the course has been a success.

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