The right song choice can take a project from good enough to unforgettable. In 2024, some exceptionally creative music syncs set new standards in how soundtracks shape storytelling. Learn more about our syncs and how we can help you round out your next project. Here, we’re highlighting the five most inventive and memorable uses of music in media this year, from theatrical releases to Super Bowl ads, to get inspiration flowing.

Spreadbeats for Spotify

FCB New York ‘s Spotify ad “Spreadbeats” is billed as less of an ad and more of a case study. The colorful video, made up of nostalgic graphics reminiscent of 8-bit video games, is aimed at media strategists who can choose to advertise on Spotify. The beginning of the video makes the point that people listening to Spotify are more mentally engaged while listening to music, thus primed to absorb your ad. 

To prove this hypothesis, the ad itself is a staggering feat of human creativity and perseverance: a whole video made, literally, on a spreadsheet. Coachella performer John Summit’s soundtrack builds from punctuating percussion that helps viewers read dense text, to emotional exuberance as the ad explodes into visual magic. 

If music is integral to your message, learn more about our licensing solutions and start browsing our expansive, curated sync library.

Challengers’ Three-Way Make-Out

Not only did Challengers have one of the buzziest original scores of the year – propulsive club beats done by alternative score masters Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – but it also had one of the best music syncs. As a trio of tennis prodigies flirt and escalate their simmering sexual tension, indie pop funk song “Uncle ACE” sets the tone of the entire encounter. The jazzy groove of this Dev Hynes track dances under the character’s steamy back-and-forth, and crescendos in a brass dreamscape as Tashi (Zendaya) leans back and enjoys the scene she has orchestrated. 

The production style combines nostalgic 80s tones with modern indie structures, making it feel both retro and fresh. It was an inspired pick for this much-talked-about scene. If you’re looking to make an impact, learn more about music synchronization for films and TV and elevate your next project. 

Michael CeraVe

The needle drop isn’t front and center in this Super Bowl ad, but music is still integral to its whole bit. In a send-up of 1990s perfume ads (à la White Diamonds), famously awkward actor Michael Cera poses with a jar of CeraVe lotion against flowing curtains, sensual beaches and white cliffs. As Cera claims he invented the lotion because “human skin is [his] passion” in a deadpan delivery, the New Age music accompanying the ad highlights the absurdity. The soft synthesizers and ethereal vocals would work in a beauty ad played straight, but creative writing makes this moisturizer spot memorable. 

Parodies are most effective when they skillfully mimic the elements of the medium they’re satirizing. Find the exact sound you’re looking for with Universal Production Music’s advanced similarity search. 

The Dove Code 

As a beauty brand, Dove has long leaned away from glossy, glamorous depictions of women, centering people with diverse and unedited bodies in their ads. In the age of Artificial Intelligence, Dove has a lot to say. This ad highlights how the AI-generated images that are beginning to dominate the online space are getting farther and farther from the actual realities of women’s bodies. 

After showing typical, alien-like results for AI-generated “beautiful women,” Dove points out that search results for “beautiful women in a Dove Beauty ad” are much more genuine. 

A lovely cover of “Pure Imagination” sung by vocalist Victoria Canal works well here on two levels: sweet, childhood innocence evoked by the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory song, and acoustic authenticity. There’s nothing digital about the strong, haunting piano or swell of orchestral strings. This is human music for humans. 

If you’re interested in finding a familiar song or a creative alternative to it for an ad, check out how to license music for commercials with Universal Production Music. 

Fallout’s 86-Year-Old Hit

This year, the pilot episode of game-turned-streaming-show Fallout ended with The Ink Spots’ 1941 song “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.” The vintage love song has been used in previous installments of the video game series (Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76) and is a fan-favorite reference. 

The choice to use it as a haunting ending to the show’s premiere taps into the series' signature blend of nostalgia and dystopia. The lyrics express a desire for love over destruction and serve as an ironic counterpoint to the post-apocalyptic setting. The song doubled in streams to reach over one million weekly plays soon after the show’s debut. 

Music is everything in media. Register to find your next sound and see how deep Universal Production Music’s library goes.