Jazzvertising: Music, Marketing, and Meaning by Mark Laver A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology Faculty of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Mark Laver 2011 Jazzvertising: Music, Marketing, and Meaning Mark Laver Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology Faculty of Music University of Toronto 2011 Abstract This dissertation examines jazz from the perspective of advertisers and marketers that have used the music with a view to unraveling the complicated web of cultural meanings and values that attend to jazz in the 21st century. Advertising is a critically important and profoundly complex medium for the mass dissemination of music and musical meaning. Advertisers and marketers therefore offer crucial perspectives on the construction, reification, and circulation of jazz meanings and discourses. At the same time, I argue that historically jazz has been a cultural practice that is uniquely situated on the cusp of the binarized cultural categories of “high art” and “popular/commercial”. With that in mind, I suggest that jazz offers an invaluable lens through which to examine the complex and often contradictory culture of consumption upon which North American capitalism is predicated. In a broad sense, then, I examine the confluence of jazz, consumption, and capitalism as they are articulated through the medium of advertising. ii I contextualize my analysis with a short history of music in advertising and a discussion of jazz’s embeddedness in capitalism and the North American culture of consumption. The core of the dissertation consists of three detailed case studies: an analysis of jazz and luxury in a 2003 Chrysler Canada campaign for the high-end cars Sebring and 300M, featuring Diana Krall; a discussion of the function of jazz in the spectacularization of cultural diversity and individual agency in the television campaign for a 2006 Diet Pepsi product called “Jazz”; and an examination of corporate amorality in the Toronto Dominion Bank’s sponsorship of jazz festivals in Canada. Finally, I consider how both communities and individuals have been subjectively constituted and/or called into being by consumption and, conversely, how they have used the convergence of jazz and consumption to “talk back” to capitalism. iii Acknowledgments The fact that mine is the only name to appear on the cover pages of this dissertation is misleading; from the start, this project has been a truly collaborative effort, and I am deeply indebted to more people than I can possibly name here. I would first like to thank my advisory committee: James Kippen, Ken McLeod, and Josh Pilzer. I have depended heavily on the encouragement and criticism of Ken and Josh throughout the process of researching and writing this project. Their ability to offer new insights, and to show me new ways of listening to and thinking about music is seemingly limitless. The only thing more inspiring than their intellectual perspicacity has been their personal generosity. My supervisor James Kippen, meanwhile, has been my mentor and friend since I started my undergrad at the Faculty of Music in 2001. He taught me what ethnomusicology is and showed me how to do it. Moreover, through my undergraduate, masters, and doctoral studies, he never let me forget why the study of music and the people who make and use it is so important. As a scholar, as a musician, and as a teacher, Jim is one of the people in my life whom I strive most to emulate. During my ten years at the Faculty of Music, I have had the good fortune to work with a great many remarkable teachers, scholars, and musicians: Gage Averill, Celia Cain, Rob Carli, Caryl Clark, Alex Dean, Robin Elliott, John Haines, Russell Hartenberger, Gregory Johnston, Sherry Lee, Kirk MacDonald, Ryan McClelland, Mike Murley, Phil Nimmons, Jeff Packman, Mary Anne Parker, Terry Promane, Paul Read, and Mark Sallmen. I have learned a great deal from each. The fact that I have stayed at the University of Toronto for as long as I iv have is a testament to their teaching, musicianship, and scholarship. With a group of educators like those at the U of T Faculty of Music, why go anywhere else? I would like to thank my fellow PhD students in musicology, ethnomusicology, and theory. I have had the great privilege of being part of an incredibly tight-knit group of students. Michelle Boyd, Stephanie Conn, Andy Hillhouse, Keith Johnston, Carolyn Ramzy, Colleen Renihan, Mark Richards, Bettina Ryan, and Alexa Woloshyn have been inspiring colleagues, and even better friends. Having this group to share ideas – and to share good times – has made both Masters and PhD studies that much easier, and that much more enjoyable. As I became increasingly immersed in graduate study over the past six years, I more or less had to stop practicing the saxophone. Nevertheless, despite my deteriorating technique, some of my favourite musicians (and people) in the world kept calling me for gigs, and kept answering the phone on those rare occasions when I called. I especially want to thank Ali Berkok, Jay Burr, Alex Coleman, Tania Gill, Chris Hunt, Pete Johnston, Jason Logue, Dave MacDougall, Alex Samaras, Mike Smith, Vince Spilchuk, and Carrie Wiebe, There are many more – too many to mention, but you know who you are. Thank you for always reminding me that making music is just as important as thinking about it. My dissertation research came together in part through a somewhat miraculous combination of serendipity and generosity. Without my friend Rob Carli, I never would have been able to connect with David Fleury, who in turn introduced me to my key research collaborators for my research on the Chrysler campaign: Pearl Davies, Steve Denvir, Rob Quartly, and Mike Smith. Without Josh Grossman – a very old and very dear friend and v musical colleague who is also the Artistic Director of the Toronto Jazz Festival – I never would have been able to speak with my collaborators from the Toronto Jazz Festival and the TD Bank: Alan Convery, Michele Martin, D’Arcy McDonald, Aileen Le Breton, and Pat Taylor. Similarly, Pete Johnston introduced me to his friends at the Halifax Jazz Festival: Chris Elson, Adam Fine, and Dustin LindenSmith. Finally, my Pepsi Jazz research was the result of a cold call to OMD Communications Director Gail Stein. Through Gail’s expansive network, I was able to get in touch with current and former DDB employees Howard Finkelstein, Kathryn Harvey, Elizabeth Hodge; Pepsi brand manager Lauren Scott; and Expansion Team composers Alex Moulton and Genji Siraisi. I am extremely grateful to all of these individuals – along with Todd Barkan, Sue Mingus, Terry Promane, Scott Thornley, and Hugh Wakeham – for their insights and their generosity. In August of 2010, I spent a fruitful week at the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University. I would like to thank the excellent staff at the Hartman Center for all of their assistance during my visit. On a more personal note, this project would have been entirely impossible were it not for the love and support of my friends and family. First of all, to the boys (Alex, Ali, Bill, Brett, Fred, Matt, Mike, and RJ) and to “The Team” (Alexa, Carrie, Colleen, Geoff, Jenn Cullen, Dean, Jerod, Keith, and Steve): you all mean the world to me. Most people probably feel like they have the best friends in the world, but unfortunately most people are mistaken. I have the best friends in the world. I would especially like to thank Pete Johnston (and by proxy, the proprietors of Grapefruit Moon on Bathurst Street in Toronto, site of countless weekly musicology breakfasts). PJ, your guidance, generosity, friendship, support, and music have been an inspiration. It’s a rare friend who can get equally riled up about fieldwork vi methodology, free jazz, the Maple Leafs, and the correct lyrics to the second verse of Hey Good Lookin’. I’m a lucky man to have found such a friend. Finally, to Finnegan, thanks for taking me for so many walks, and reminding me that sometimes, despite whatever else may be going on, you just have to stop and chew on a stick for a while. To my extended family – the Coxes, the Parsons, the Quongs, and the Wainwrights: thank you so much. To my in-laws – Fred, Mary, Ken, Robin, Jane, Sean, Kyle, and Clare: naturally, I knew almost right away that marrying my wife would be a good idea, but I didn’t immediately realize that it would mean that I would also get to be part of such a remarkable (and remarkably hilarious) family. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives, and for your support over the last five years. To my immediate family – Tom, Margaret, and John: this dissertation is as much yours as it is mine. You have taught me everything, made me everything, and supported me in everything. I could never express the depths of my love and my gratitude. Finally, to my wife Erin: there is no one who could ever be luckier or happier than I am, because there is no one else who will ever know the joy that we have. You brighten the world, and you give me hope, and you make me dream. This work – like everything I ever have done and ever will do – is for you. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv Table of Contents viii List of Plates x List of Figures xi Chapter 1 – Introduction 1 Literature Review 3 Theoretical Framework 13 Methodology 18 Chapter Outline 24 Chapter 2 – Mass Production, Mass Mediation, and the Emergence of Consumer Culture 28 Music in Advertising: An Overview 38 Chapter 3 – “You, my