Ambi-Diegetic Music in Films as a Product Design and -Placement Strategy: The Sweet Smell of Success

Abstract

As an important element in the product design of motion pictures, ambidiegetic music in films – appearing on-screen (diegetically) but helping to advance a film’s dramatic development (non-diegetically) – plays a key role in shaping the consumption experience of a movie audience. Further, ambi-diegetic music in films is a kind of product placement in which the individuals who create a motion picture insert a particular offering – namely, a musical performance – in a manner intended to structure a movie’s meaning and to shape its appreciation. As one illustration, this article examines the role of ambi-diegetic music inSweet Smell of Success (1957). This film attracts the interest of those concerned with marketing theory partly because it represents the battle of artistic integrity against the forces of commercialism and especially because the movie’s design hinges on the manner in which ambi-diegetic cinemusical moments work to develop the characterization of a leading protagonist. Specifically, the identity of the guitarist who performs the source music that this character mimes on-camera turns out to carry considerable significance for our interpretation of his personality, disposition, and capabilities. Thus ambi-diegetic music plays a key role in the product design that creates a viable work of art.