Ads the Way We Like It: Müller’s Melodic Masterstroke 

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The right soundtrack can take an ad from basic to brilliant. In Orlando Wood’s work he goes deep into the importance of melody as an element of great creative advertising, from jingles that stick in your head to classic pop songs, perfectly deployed.

That’s what we’re looking at here, in Müller’s latest 20-second ad for their Müller Corner product. It kicks off their new brand platform with agency VCCP, “You Know How You Like It”, which is all about celebrating individuality, starting with all the different ways people enjoy their Müller yoghurts.

In the ad, an office worker is about to dig into his Müller Corner pot when he notices a co-worker staring at him with obvious disapproval. The man looks back, thinks for a second, then decides “so what?” and gets right on with enjoying the yogurt. Why let other people pour cold water on what brings you joy? asks the ad.

It’s an enjoyable message that’s got plenty of motivational power for a fun, indulgent brand like Müller. But what makes the ad work so well is the way it uses music. The soundtrack is KC And The Sunshine band’s disco banger “That’s The Way (I Like It)”, which as well as being a timeless tune has obvious synergy with the campaign and its emotional core.

Where the ad excels is in using the music as payoff and punchline, not just soundtrack. The ad starts with the swirling, immediately recognisable instrumental build-up to the chorus lyric. But then it cuts off as the protagonist notices that joyless co-worker and his stare. The ad gives us several seconds of silence, making viewers anticipate the moment when the song drops back in. So when it does, that’s a big emotional payoff as well as a lovely bit of sonic satisfaction.

It’s a simple, but hugely effective way to use a familiar song in an ad. This isn’t the first ad to employ “That’s The Way” but we haven’t seen it done this skillfully, turning the song into a central part of the storyline.

The results of our Test Your Ad report back that up. Ads in the Yogurt category average a modest 2.9-Star Rating (our predictor of long-term potential business impact for a commercial). “You Know How You Like It”, though, goes straight into the top bracket of ads, with a 5.0-Star Rating, putting it in the top 2% of all Yogurt commercials.

It also scores a Strong rating for short-term Spike (predicting sales uplifts) and the all-important Brand Fluency (measuring fast and accurate brand recognition). And the power of music to spark emotion is proved not just by the exceptional Star Rating but by an emotional intensity score that’s way over the category average.

It’s further proof that getting the right soundtrack – one that matches its melody to your message – is an effectiveness game-changer for ads.