Wireless Brands Are Singing Older Tunes

Ads for wireless companies are everywhere on TV. But it takes more than just a lot of ad airings to stand out.

Using music to capture viewers attention and create brand affinity is a common tactic. The key to success is picking the right song. Thankfully, brands now have the ability to tailor song choices to the specific audience(s) they’re looking to appeal to, narrowing selections most likely to be favored by a specific age or gender group.

Songtradr recently used its AI sonic analysis technology to evaluate the songs licensed by some of the most-seen wireless ads on TV since the start of 2022, honing in on some key trends:

Giving Older Millennials and Gen X Audiences What They Want

The music choices of wireless ads were most likely favorable to older millennials (35-to-44 year-olds) and Gen X (45-65) audiences.

Among millenials, Sontgradr found that seven of the nine songs analyzed score a favorability rating of 50% or higher. The most favorable for that age group was “The Best” from Tina Turner, at 80%, which was used in a T-Mobile ad spot.

For Gen X, the most favorable song choice was The Mamas & the Papas’ “Go Where You Wanna Go,” which was used by the Lively wireless service provider. The song had an impressive 90% favorability, meaning it was almost assured to find appeal with Gen X viewers.

T-Mobile Hits Right Notes for (Older) Millennials

T-Mobile licensed the most music of all wireless brands, , accounting for six of the nine spots examined. And as such, it showcased a strong ability to appeal to a broad range of ages across ads – though it had the highest favorability by far with millennials (especially those 35 and older).

In one T-Mobile for Business ad, the company opted for Jesus Jones’s “Right Here Right Now,” which topped 50% favorability for both younger millennials (52%) and older millennials (56%), with limited appeal for other age groups. Its use of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” boasted a 73% appeal with older millennials (while also possessing strong favorability for Gen X), while Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” was even higher with older millennials at 75%.

Wireless Ad Music Has More Appeal For Men

Songtradr’s analysis also examined whether music choices were likely to have high favorability with men or women. Of the songs studied, just three featured favorability above 50% for women – and none were any higher than 60% (Icona Pop and Charli XCX’s “I Love It,” which Metro by T-Mobile licensed). Most of the other song choices had favorability below 30% for women.

Meanwhile, five of the nine songs had favorability of 67% or higher for men (co-led by Whitesnake and Billy Idol at 82%) and all scored 40% or higher.

Such a stark contrast underlines a larger problem in the marketplace at large:: Difficulty appealing to women. With women accounting for at least 85% of consumer purchase decisions, advertising should better reflect womens’ preferences. There are numerous ways that advertisers can do that, though one of the key factors is music utilization.

To learn more about better decision-making around music usage, contact Songtradr today.