Who came up with those Japanese commercials that are brainwashed after listening to them?

The Spring Festival is about to come, and the New Year’s brainwashing divine song is swept along with the New Year’s taste, the big skewers, from "God of Wealth to God of Wealth", "Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations" all the way to "Congratulations on your wealth, congratulations on your wonderful" You can see the bustling people as soon as you open your eyes, picking up huge red gift bags to fill the entire shopping cart.

However, such "brainwashing" is not limited to Chinese supermarkets. In the island country of Japan, which is close to us, various supermarket chains, well-known electrical appliances stores and discount stores also have many brainwashing divine songs.

My personal impression is the BicCamera, a local electrical chain store in Japan. Walk in for a few hours, and you will soon be caught by the commercial song "Bikubikubikubikucame". The single loops countless times.

It can be said that not only Chinese tourists but even local residents of Japan are deeply impressed by this very magical BGM.

At first, many people thought it was the store who wanted to liven up the atmosphere and worried that the air would suddenly become quiet, so they wanted to add some environmental sound to the store. People who shop in the store often don't pay much attention to the content of the soundtrack.

They didn't realize that they might have been "brainwashed" by the song until they realized that when they walked out of the store, the tune of the commercial song would continue to circulate in their minds. When they returned home, they would even hum while cooking.

Is this a coincidence? It really isn't. The choice of store music is also part of the business strategy, and in many cases, it can even become a business.

Japanese hypermarket, brainwashing singing

At the beginning of this year, Japanese netizen Fujita Yoshisuke posted a tweet with the following meaning:

"The Japanese musician Daisuke Asakura said on a TV show that the kind of cheap-sounding music is played in supermarkets to make customers think that the store sells things cheap. If they play very solemn and classical People will think things are expensive. I checked it and found that music really affects the shopping psychology…too great…"

Although music promotion is nothing new, after this tweet was sent, it still received tens of thousands of reposts and likes. Many netizens have attached the music they heard in supermarkets and coffee shops in their messages, and the result is indeed similar to the music we hear in the streets and alleys.

In the comment area, some netizens said: "No song is more brainwashed than the commercial song of AEON BiG supermarket. It is too easy to be poisoned." I found the original song he said, clicked it and listened to it, the style is very light. But it is also very ancient.

An employee who has worked on TV programs also said that in supermarkets and pharmacies, the music played is relatively relaxed, and many of them are free materials that can be used at will.

Some netizens also found that they "have never heard similar songs in high-end shopping venues like Isetan, Kyoboku, Meijiya, and Kinokuni, where relatively calm classical music is generally played."

Others say that his father works in the art section of the department store, where Debussy’s song "Golliwog's Cakewalk" is played on a loop, and the goods there are indeed selling well; there are also places like selling reference books and art books, They are mainly based on classical music.

In Japan, there have been attempts to allow music to assist store sales or to attract customers as early as the Meiji and Taisho periods. For example, Tokyo Mitsukoshi Department Store once established the "Mitsukoshi Junior Music Team" to attract customers to the store and stimulate consumption.

But at that time, the songs used by Mitsukoshi were not original. It wasn't until TV commercials began to appear that the brand's original BGM and commercials used in stores became really popular in Japan.

Kenro Hayami, who is engaged in Japanese pop music research, said that early Japanese brand advertising songs simply repeated the company name or product name in the lyrics, and then gradually became more complicated, and some also adopted a new chorus style.

However, many large chain stores, or supermarkets, and middle-aged stores, will use the simplest, easy-to-understand and light-paced music to create a "grounded" atmosphere in the store.

Nowadays, stores with their own brainwashing divine comedy are basically all over the streets of Japan. Not only Biccamera, but also several other Japanese electrical appliances stores such as Sofmap and Yodobashi, as well as chain middle-aged stores such as HARD OFF, will also play background sounds with a bright rhythm and a strong sense of rhythm in the store, let alone more coverage. Guang's cheap supermarkets and convenience stores.

Because this kind of music is too popular, in 2004, the Japanese record company Pony Canyon also released an album "ELECTRIC PARK", which included all the background music of several well-known electrical appliances stores, so that people can open it anytime, anywhere. Brainwashing and listening to songs mode.

What is curious is how these songs are made?

Homemade magical commercials

Most fast-fashion stores or world-renowned chain stores often play popular tracks that are already on the market. Someone can even guess what style of playlist the store chooses after listening to one or two songs.

However, due to copyright considerations, more medium and large businesses are seeking cooperation with music service providers to select the most suitable playlist for the store.

In 2016, McDonald's reached a contract with Soundtrack. The latter will provide background music services to approximately 36,000 McDonald's restaurants worldwide, and the music library will be provided by the streaming music service provider Spotify.

In 2019, Apple also launched a Business service based on Apple Music, which is also a music authorization service for businesses.

Although this market is more towards the B-end, due to the huge market capacity and the demand for background music in stores, the potential that can be tapped cannot be underestimated.

However, the background music of Japanese chain stores is a special example, because they generally do not use streaming music libraries, but directly original.

Take Don Quixote, a well-known discount store chain in Japan, for example. Its theme advertising song is called "Miracle Shopping". The melody of "Dong, dong, gi," is actually the Japanese pronunciation of Don Quixote. .

But what you never think of is that the composition, lyrics and even the singer of this piece were all done by an internal Don Quixote employee.

In many Don Quixote stores, you will see another line of text on the signboard, written "Jing'an の殿堂", which is a metaphor for customers entering the store, as if they are in a paradise full of ultra-low-priced goods, thus emphasizing that they are shocking the world Of discounts.

Maimi Tanaka, the author of this piece, wanted to make the customer's "self-conscious and impulsive feeling into music":

I think Don Quixote is more like a special time and space where a celebration is being held. People can't help but let themselves go as soon as they come in. Even if you are shopping for high-end brand products, as long as you are in Don Quixote, you can easily stroll around and buy them.

Thus, this brisk "dong dong dong" rhythm came into being, and the lyrics tell you directly, "I buy on impulse," and "This is a happy place where you can buy anything", and because The lyrics are catchy, and the rhythm is quite brainwashing. Whether in the store or on the street corner, you may encounter passers-by humming "dong dong dong, dong gi".

In addition, different brands have different composing tendencies. For example, BicCamera and Youdu Baxi, their commercial songs are adapted from foreign hymns.

As for the other Sofmap, it invited a dedicated composer and lyricist to write a "Hello Sofmap World" commercial song, which can be said to be the most willing to spend money and do it with the most heart among these "brainwashing songs". Up.

Use sound to stimulate your desire to buy

At the beginning of the 20th century, businesses did not have the habit of playing background music in stores, but at this time some people have invented the term "elevator music" to encourage people to step into the claustrophobic space of elevators.

Until now, this type of music generally refers to the "background sound played continuously in public places such as elevators, restaurants, and shops." In addition, music itself is an emotional media carrier, and many businesses also use this simple and easy way to attract consumers, use music to mobilize emotions, and make more money.

In many Japanese shops and supermarkets, you will see a little man with a smiley face and open hands called "Call 込み君". This device will have several brainwashing songs built-in, most of which are brisk styles, and repeat the same melody continuously to attract customers to the specials and new product areas in the mall.

But can music really boost consumption in stores? Explaining the reasons for this phenomenon cannot only rely on guesswork, but often requires more scientific experiments to verify.

USEN, Japan's largest background music service provider, once launched an experiment on whether store shopping behavior will change due to the rhythm of BGM. They recruited 42 male and female users aged 30-50, divided into two groups of slow-paced BGM and fast-paced BGM. At the same time, they rented a real convenience store and let them carry 10,000 yen for normal shopping.

The results show that customers under fast-paced BGM are obviously more willing to spend money than customers on the other side, and the number of things they buy will be more, and the shopping time will be shorter; while the slow-paced can increase the mood of relaxation. Which kind of soundtrack you choose depends on the business status of the store.

Nowadays, not only store music is specially designed, but in many Japanese food advertisements, the sound is also specially designed.

For example, in Japanese snacks such as potato chips and chocolates, or in TV commercials of alcoholic beverages, there will always be a clip of an actor trying to eat. At this time, the sound of "clicking" or the sound of "gudong" when drinking a drink. Will be amplified and the sound is very obvious.

These clips are often recorded in a very quiet place with a microphone at close range. After the audience hears the sound, even if they don't really eat it, they will replenish the taste and take a swallow together.

This is why, even if the duration of some advertisements is short, relying on intuitive sound performance can still attract your "ears" in a short time. At this time, at the end, the full picture of the product is just released, and you who are bright in front of you, how can you not have the desire to buy?

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Ai Faner | Original link · View comments · Sina Weibo