Bird sounds on commercials are often out of place

thecountrytoday. ^ | 5-13-03 | Laura Erickson, Bird columnist

[SJackson]

One of the most popular perennial topics when birdwatchers start talking is how birds are used on TV and in movies. When watching a show, birders are always horrified to hear birds that would not really be singing in that place in that situation.

Televised golf tournaments in recent years are produced with a fake soundtrack using a variety of recorded bird songs. To me, this seems insidiously misleading, since it's done so seamlessly that people may actually subconsciously think that golf courses support a lot more varieties of birds than they actually do.

The golf course habitat is certainly enticing to some species of birds, like robins, bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows and Canada Geese -- birds that do best in open short-grass meadows with huge shade trees. The problem is that to maintain these short grass meadows, most golf courses are laced with herbicides and, far worse, insecticides. Most insecticides are at least somewhat toxic to birds, and many are extremely poisonous. If a natural bird does sing in the background, that is part of the real golf course ambience, but plugging in contrived songs leads too many people to believe that even the worst, most toxic golf courses sustain healthy bird populations.

Some bird sounds used in commercials are there simply to lend atmosphere or a quiet, soothing touch that gives people a sense of the outdoors without distracting from the commercial's message.

Two of the most popular sounds are the Mourning Warbler and the Savannah Sparrow. I think that's because commercials want their viewers to subconsciously associate the product with nature, without making the songs so beautiful or humorous that they distract the viewer from the basic information about the product. When I was taking my second ornithology class, I studied Savannah Sparrows and the variations in their sleepy snore of a song. It's a quiet, lovely song, subtle enough to stay in the background while giving a natural aura to whatever product is being pushed. But I can't help but smile when I hear it while seeing a typical suburban backyard, with trees and shrubs and lawn, since Savannah Sparrows live in pastures, fields and other large expanses of weeds and grasses.

Mourning Warblers have a soft, pretty song I've always interpreted as "cheese cheese cheese, for me, for me," though I've yet to hear their song in a cheese commercial. But I have heard it used to plug a variety of products and services, from insurance companies to Weyerhauser.

Lately I've been hearing this song at the start of a Domino's Pizza commercial wherein a bunch of Nascar guys serve pizza to a family. I have no idea what message Domino's was trying to convey in opening that commercial with a Mourning Warbler song, but at least in my case, the sound effect is counter-productive, since the commercial always makes me want to get out birding, not eat pizza.

Cars are often hawked using images of birds of prey. When a company is trying to convey strength, speed and a macho image, raptors are natural sumbols, at least appearance-wise. But many birds of prey have high-pitched, decidedly un-macho voices. Some commercials and TV shows that use video of Bald Eagles use voice over recordings of Red-tailed Hawks. This is a truly wild and noble sound, especially compared to the wimpy chirping that eagles produce. Bald Eagles are very much like the actors who were so effective in silent movies but fell by the wayside when talkies came out.

It's ironic to use bird images and sounds to sell products that are bad for birds and their natural world, but as long as people use them in commercials, it's clear that business recognizes the deep emotional and spiritual bonds between human beings and nature. And in the long run, that must be a good thing.

Laura Erickson can be reached on bird-related topics by e-mail at lauraerickson@abac.com; at www.lauraerickson.com; or at Laura Erickson, c/o Creative Birding, 4831 Peabody Street, Duluth, MN 55804.

[dr_lew]

I would like to know the basis for saying that golf tournament broadcasts are enhanced with fake bird songs. I notice these on TV, and they are entirely consistent with my own experience on the course. I'm inclined to dismiss these charges out of hand - but who knows!

Well, I see this is a news item from 2000. I have to say I feel like a real chump.