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Arts & Communication

ARTICLE
Aurally enhanced media promotion: Music and

sound in Greek television commercials

2
1
Eleni Oikonomou and Nick Poulakis *
1 Department of Ethnomusicology, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York,
United States of America
2 Department of Music Studies, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of
Athens, Athens, Attica, Greece

Abstract
The sonic dimensions of modern media—including speech, sound effects, and
music—play a significant role in communicating signs, meanings, and messages
through multimodal channels of audiovisual connotations. Each feature can be
regarded as a discrete unit; however, the overall framework is established through
an orchestrated “interaction” of these components. Receiving information through
televised advertisements is a cognitive process that requires critical analysis.
This study examines the functions of music and sound in television advertising,
emphasizing the collaboration between visual and audio material. Our objective is
to equally investigate optical and musical conventions in selected TV commercials.
We will also analyze how meaning emerges through visuals, sounds, and music in
*Corresponding author: correlation to the product, branding, and the purpose of advertisements as short,
Nick Poulakis
(nick.poulakis@music.uoa.gr) concise audiovisual narratives. The data for this study were collected from a series
of food and drink ads shown on Greek television between 2015 and 2020. The
Citation: Oikonomou E,
Poulakis N. Aurally enhanced research draws upon contemporary culturally informed, musicological, semiotic,
media promotion: Music and sound and interpretive methodologies, applying both textual and contextual analyses to
in Greek television commercials. examine how these techniques captivate audiences and effectively communicate
Arts & Communication.
2025;3(2):4374. messages. Understanding music’s psychological and pragmatic effects in advertising
doi: 10.36922/ac.4374 is crucial for recognizing its role as a powerful tool that influences consumer behavior
and perception.
Received: July 30, 2024
Revised: August 18, 2024
Keywords: Television commercials; Greece; Audiovisual analysis; Music and sound; Music
Accepted: August 30, 2024
and meaning; Music and image
Published online: October 29,
2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article 1. Introduction
distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Sound has always been integral to human nature, and its analysis is crucial for
AttributionNoncommercial License, understanding both the world and the individual. In this study, sound is defined as any
permitting all non-commercial use,
distribution, and reproduction in any stimulus that the human auditory system can perceive. When organized in complex
medium, provided the original work patterns, sounds become what we recognize as “music.” Since the advent of sound
is properly cited. films, music, and sound have been inseparable from moving pictures. Modern media,
Publisher’s Note: AccScience such as television and mobile phones, have enhanced the audiovisual experience, both
Publishing remains neutral with as a complementary and unified creation. A common example of this relationship is
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional television advertising, where music and images collaborate closely. Music in ads ranges
affiliations. from a simple chime to catchy melodies or jingles – short, distinctive songs or tunes that

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/ac.4374