ABSTRACT

The tension intrinsic to partnerships between popular music and advertising can be partially relieved by melding the intent and characteristics of the advertiser with an artistic form, and consequently emphasizing the similarities between the cultural goals of popular music and the cultural goals of advertising. Sponsorships or product placements are less offensive to fans and critics when they are “done tastefully” and, likewise, advertisements that can be viewed as artistic forms in and of themselves raise fewer concerns about whether they are destroying the music licensed within. In this regard, artistic commercials present what appears to be a more developed blending of commercial and cultural interests.