Are Branded Hip-Hop Tracks Any Good? We Asked 3 Experts to Review Them

Hamburger Helper, Wendy's and Chef Boyardee have dropped songs. So how do they rate?

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Brands are no strangers to producing music, which evolved around the 1960s from simple, catchy jingles to occasionally include legitimately great performances (thanks in large part to Coca-Cola’s innovative collaborations with Aretha Franklin, Roy Orbison and others).

Hip-hop, however, is a genre mainstream marketers have been slow to embrace beyond the occasional, carefully selected track being used in ads for brands that rely on street cred.

Lately that hesitance seems to be waning, with brands not only collaborating alongside more rap artists but also now releasing their own branded tracks and playlists. Many of the brands driving this trend (think Hamburger Helper and Chef Boyardee) are, let’s face it, far from cool.

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This story first appeared in the September 10, 2018, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.