- Aalborg University
Dept. of Communication & Psychology
Rendsburggade 14
9000 Aalborg
Denmark - + 045 24652209
Nicolai J Graakjær
Aalborg University, Department of Communication & Psychology, Department Member
- Sound studies, Social Sciences, Popular Music, Musicology, Marketing & Advertising, Advertising and Branding, and 8 moreFilm Music And Sound, Musical Semantics, Music and Television, Stylistic analysis of films, music videos, television series, and videos, Advertising and Music, Music Branding, Commercial Music, and Music and Mediaedit
- NICOLAI JØRGENSGAARD GRAAKJÆR (b. 1972, Danish) is Professor of Music and Sound in Market Communication in the Depart... moreNICOLAI JØRGENSGAARD GRAAKJÆR (b. 1972, Danish) is Professor of Music and Sound in Market Communication in the Department of Communication and Psychology at the University of Aalborg, Denmark. His research interests span from musicology, sound studies, market communication, media studies to social psychology. His publications include Analyzing Music in Advertising (Routledge, 2015), Sound and Genre in Film and Television (MedieKultur, 2010, Co-editor), Music in Advertising: Commercial Sounds in Media Communication and other Settings (Aalborg University Press, 2009, Co-editor) as well as papers in, e.g., Critical Discourse Studies, Visual Communication, European Journal of Marketing and Popular Music and Society.edit
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Sound seems to be a neglected issue in the study of web ads. Web advertising is predominantly regarded as visual phenomena–commercial messages, as for instance banner ads that we watch, read, and eventually click on–but only rarely as... more
Sound seems to be a neglected issue in the study of web ads. Web advertising is predominantly regarded as visual phenomena–commercial messages, as for instance banner ads that we watch, read, and eventually click on–but only rarely as something that we listen to. The present chapter presents an overview of the auditory dimensions in web advertising: Which kinds of sounds do we hear in web ads? What are the conditions and functions of sound in web ads? Moreover, the chapter proposes a theoretical framework in order to analyse the communicative functions of sound in web advertising. The main argument is that an understanding of the auditory dimensions in web advertising must include a reflection on the hypertextual settings of the web ad as well as a perspective on how users engage with web content.
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Based on an examination of the Coca-Cola commercial “Taste” (distributed the first time in 2015 as part of the “Open Happiness” campaign), this chapter explores how a commercial can “colonize” and “cultivate” generic territories of music,... more
Based on an examination of the Coca-Cola commercial “Taste” (distributed the first time in 2015 as part of the “Open Happiness” campaign), this chapter explores how a commercial can “colonize” and “cultivate” generic territories of music, sound, and brand image. The chapter also examines how music and sound accomplish this in a brand’s pursuit of this emotional territory, whether or not this pursuit is successful or not, through a process of signification. The examination focuses on the textual organization of the commercial, including both transtextual and cotextual perspectives. The analysis also examines the relationship of music and other sound effects to the visual image in the commercial.
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This article aims to specify the role of spectator sounds in football simulation video games as exemplified by FIFA 19: what are the structures and functions of spectator sounds and how are these sounds related to the visuals of the video... more
This article aims to specify the role of spectator sounds in football simulation video games as exemplified by FIFA 19: what are the structures and functions of spectator sounds and how are these sounds related to the visuals of the video game and the player’s actions and potential experience of disruption? Although the examination generally adds to the understanding of a prevalent and purportedly significant yet hitherto rather underexplored type of video game sound, the examination also motivates a modification of certain positions within previous research that has routinely highlighted the non-obtrusive role of video game sounds. Specifically, the article shows how the disruptive potential of the spectator sounds is attributional both to what they sound like, why they occur and how and from what perspective the player is called upon to listen to them.
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... Nicolai Jørgensgaard Graakjær. ... With reference to Stefani's levels of codes (Stefani 1987), all of these are potentially involved in establishing meanings when pre-existing music is involved and most striking is of... more
... Nicolai Jørgensgaard Graakjær. ... With reference to Stefani's levels of codes (Stefani 1987), all of these are potentially involved in establishing meanings when pre-existing music is involved and most striking is of course, that the opus level is being activated, contrary to most ...
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Music composed with the purpose of selling consumer goods and services make up a fair proportion of the songs, jingles and melodies we encounter on a daily basis. Whether we go shopping, listen to the radio, watch television or surf the... more
Music composed with the purpose of selling consumer goods and services make up a fair proportion of the songs, jingles and melodies we encounter on a daily basis. Whether we go shopping, listen to the radio, watch television or surf the Internet, we are likely to be exposed to music crafted with the explicit purpose of supporting sales. Nonetheless, music for commercial settings is largely neglected in research on popular music and in media studies. This book is thus the first volume dealing exclusively with these various aspects of music in advertising. Contributors to "Music in Advertising" are scholars from the fields of musicology, media studies and consumer research sharing an interest in the aesthetic features and communicative aspects of this kind of music. The book consists of 13 chapters. Six of them deal with different topics related to music in television commercials. Six further chapters cover advertising in other media, as well as other ways in which music is utilised to promote sales. A concluding chapter discusses the ontology of film and advertising music.
Research Interests: Music, Art, Popular Music, Advertising, Radio, and 7 moreTelevision, Audio Branding, Shopping, Commercials, Muzak, Internet, and Market Communication
Since the turn of the millennium, the Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series has provided a number of important studies on popular music. Klein’s contribution on pre-existing popular music in advertising is one of the most recent, and it... more
Since the turn of the millennium, the Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series has provided a number of important studies on popular music. Klein’s contribution on pre-existing popular music in advertising is one of the most recent, and it examines a field of research on the periphery of traditional musicology. Thus, the subject of the book is important and the scope is wide-ranging. In addition to musicologists, media and communication researchers ought to be able to find something of interest as well. Inspired by the following observation, “in marketing, and particularly in television commercials, popular music has become ubiquitous” (Klein, 2009, p. 1), Klein sets out to explain and discuss why pre-existing popular music in advertising has become ubiquitous and what the consequences are for music, the music industry, and for marketing. Empirically, the examination is based on 29 in-depth interviews with respondents who all occupy positions with direct influence on the business of so...
Abstract This paper explores how music contributes to actualizing meaning potentials in a case of televised football. From the perspective of textual analysis – informed by multimodal discourse analysis and semiotics of music – the paper... more
Abstract This paper explores how music contributes to actualizing meaning potentials in a case of televised football. From the perspective of textual analysis – informed by multimodal discourse analysis and semiotics of music – the paper specifically focusses on the title music and demonstrates how the music contributes to offering impressions of 1) the characteristics of the editorial production of the programme, 2) the type and quality of content of the programme, and 3) for whom the programme and football are particularly relevant. The examination furthermore illustrates how a textual examination of title music should include an exploration of how the title music relates to music from outside the title sequence (transtextuality) as well as how the music relates to non-musical elements throughout the audio-visual sequence (cotextuality). In this respect, the paper presents a text analytical framework applicable to other examples of title music for football and sports programming.
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The main purpose of this article is to demonstrate that far more extensive literature on sound branding exists than hitherto acknowledged. The topic has been approached from various angles with differing emphases, and the article provides... more
The main purpose of this article is to demonstrate that far more extensive literature on sound branding exists than hitherto acknowledged. The topic has been approached from various angles with differing emphases, and the article provides insight into the variation and range of the literature. Specifically, the article aims to establish an academic foundation for future sound-branding studies by researchers and students alike, who will no longer need to postulate a general lack of literature and research in the field. The article is based on systematically performed literature searches and presents an inductively developed categorisation of five different types of contribution. In this light, the article highlights that although it is now possible to determine that the literature is relatively extensive, a number of knowledge lacunae still exist because a range of questions and activities are ignored or only dealt with in passing.
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This article focuses on music placement in commercials from a text analytical perspective. The article argues that music placement should not be understood merely in terms of usage and the ‘parasitic’ attachment of music to non-musical... more
This article focuses on music placement in commercials from a text analytical perspective. The article argues that music placement should not be understood merely in terms of usage and the ‘parasitic’ attachment of music to non-musical media texts, brands and products. Such placement includes the audiovisual positioning and reconfiguration of the music, which profoundly influences the commercial’s as well as the music’s potentials for signification, which arguably indicates an "artistic" use of the textual resources. The argument is elaborated through a textual analysis of a sports-related commercial, in which the diegetic placement of (a version of) a track by the band AC/DC adds specific values and meanings to the relationship between the music and the mediated sports. http://mediamusic-journal.com/Issues/8_2.html
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Christina Ranum and Nicolai J. Graakjær Musik til shopper En empirisk undersøgelse af kunders opfattelse af butikmusik. (Music for shoppers An empirical examination of customers' views of music in shops). Increasingly shops need... more
Christina Ranum and Nicolai J. Graakjær Musik til shopper En empirisk undersøgelse af kunders opfattelse af butikmusik. (Music for shoppers An empirical examination of customers' views of music in shops). Increasingly shops need branding. Music can be important in this connection, and earlier research has indicated that music creates atmosphere and meaning, and that music can even influence the consumer's choice of products. However, research has been characterized by a predominantly quantitative, experimental approach, and there are no independent research studies of shop music in a Danish context. In this way the article supplements existing research by its examination of the meaning of shop music in a Danish context using qualitative methods. Referring to a selected shop environment (The Salling department store in Aalborg) it presents, discusses and puts the result of 126 "exit interviews" as well as a more extensive focus group survey into perspective.
Nicolai Jørgensgaard Graakjær's contribution, McJingles - On the use of music in the McDonald's-campaign 'i'm lovin' it', is a stylistic and linguistic analysis of a slogan in an advertising campaign from... more
Nicolai Jørgensgaard Graakjær's contribution, McJingles - On the use of music in the McDonald's-campaign 'i'm lovin' it', is a stylistic and linguistic analysis of a slogan in an advertising campaign from McDonald's. McDonald's is one of the most prominent symbols of global culture and as such has been the focus of discussions about the homogenization of culture at a global level. Based on its analysis of the slogan's musical minimization and variation Graakjær argues that McDonald's does not only adapt itself to a time when the audience are saturated with advertising, but the burger chain, even though it strives for global standards, can still make cultural considerations and be adapted to local conditions. Here we see a different perspective linking well with the considerations that Karina M. Smed makes about the relationship between the global and the local based on tourism discourses.
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ABSTRACT While the sonic logo for McDonald’s i’m lovin’ it campaign has been widely distributed and highly praised, little is known about the actual characteristics and meaning potentials of this particular musical discourse. From the... more
ABSTRACT While the sonic logo for McDonald’s i’m lovin’ it campaign has been widely distributed and highly praised, little is known about the actual characteristics and meaning potentials of this particular musical discourse. From the perspective of multimodal discourse analysis, this paper seeks to unravel the discourse of the sonic logo as it appears in a collection of 475 commercials from the first fifteen years of the campaign. By adopting an otherwise rarely found diachronic perspective, the examination reveals how the sonic logo changes over time and thereby produces alternating meaning potentials. To account for these changes, the paper offers the concepts of alteration and adaptation. Based on these concepts, the paper reveals novel insights into how music can perform a determinative role in the multimodal discourse. In addition to the traditional functions of sonic logos, the music serves to engage viewers in appropriating the slogan of the campaign. This process is specified as the production of an emotive, which imply an instigation of an emotional engagement – related to current values and ideologies – beyond the more familiar capacities of music to express and induce emotions.
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Taylor, T. (2012). The sounds of capitalism. Advertising, music, and theconquest of culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press