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Mastercard to collaborate with artists on songs incorporating its jingle

By | Published on Wednesday 8 January 2020

Mastercard

Last year Mastercard introduced a new “sonic brand identity” for use on its payment devices and in its advertising. And now it’s partnering with artists to incorporate that little jingle into a series of pop songs. Which is either a quirky new approach to the artist/brand partnership or the end of civilisation as we know it. I can’t quite decide.

The credit card firm has partnered with songwriter, producer and Session founder Niclas Molinder, who will find and work with emerging artists on the project, which means it could be creatively interesting. But then they are also launching the project at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today accompanied by all the usual corporate bullshit nonsense which, because this is an audio project, you can even listen to if you so wish:

“As experiences increasingly define the brand in the eyes of the consumer”, declare the firm’s marketing bullshit specialists, “Mastercard is designing consumer journeys that cater to the senses and reinforce the brand in new and differentiated ways”. The artists Molinder recruits will “build upon the Mastercard sound architecture to curate an auditory experience that brings new meaning and purpose to the brand”. Yeah, lots of meaning and purpose.

Though, by working with a diverse mix of artists, the project will – I suppose – put to the test Mastercard’s insistence that its “sonic brand identity” was “derived with a flexibility that enables it to live across musical genres and cultures while also maintaining familiarity”.

The first musical rework of the Mastercard jingle is by Swedish artist Nadine Randle. Her track ‘Merry Go Round’ will be formally launched at CES later today, but you can hear it her now:

Now here’s Mastercard’s Raja Rajamannar with more marketing bullshit: “Sound is our next frontier for brand expression and a powerful way for us to reach consumers through the passions that connect us all. We’re THRILLED to be partnering with Nadine on ‘Merry Go Round’ to integrate the recognisable sonic melody – underscoring the many ways that the branding can be used beyond traditional means”.

I’ve decided, it definitely is the end of civilisation as we know it.



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