The effects of music in advertisement: a comparative study of theories

Abstract

The influence of music in retail settings and advertisements on consumers’ purchasing behavior has been an important topic in both fields of marketing and psychology. The use of music to regulate consumers’ emotions to increase consumption is a dominating marketing strategy for stores and other service environments. The theory of atmospherics by Kotler and the theory of Pleasure, Arousal, Dominance (PAD) by Mehrabian-Russell are both widely used in studying the effects of music in retail settings. However, while other theories have been formulated to study music in advertisement, atmospherics and PAD, being fundamental in retail settings, have not been used in studying the effects of music in advertisement. The aim of the thesis is to answer the question whether these two theories can be applied to study the effects of music in advertisements. This thesis analyzes the function of music in three different commercials, how it contributes to the other aspects of the commercials and how it could influence consumers’ purchasing behavior, based on the parameters from both the atmospherics theory and PAD theory. Findings suggest that atmospherics is suitable for studying the effects of music in advertisements, while PAD seems not to be suitable for studying music in advertisements according to the current study method. Future research could optimize these findings by conducting experimental studies involving participants.