Sound can do more than deliver a script.

Across cars, music platforms and mobile games, brands are finding ways to make it part of the experience itself. Three campaigns show how audio can express cultural identity, encourage participation and introduce a product.

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Hyundai: Turning a familiar sound into a cultural symbol

Hyundai Puerto Rico's Coquí Alarmed campaign, developed by BBDO Puerto Rico, replaced the usual lock sound in participating rental cars with the call of the coquí frog, an emblem of Puerto Rican culture. The idea turned an everyday vehicle interaction into an expression of local identity.

The campaign won the Audio & Radio Grand Prix at Cannes Lions in 2026. By giving a familiar product sound a culturally meaningful purpose, it demonstrated how audio can become part of an everyday experience without interrupting it.

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Sounds Right: Turning listening into participation

The Sounds Right initiative was launched in 2024 by the Museum for the United Nations and its partners. It introduced NATURE as a recording artist, allowing music that incorporates natural sounds to generate funding for biodiversity conservation.

Spotify supported the initiative through promotion and a charitable contribution. As described by UN Live and Sounds Right, the concept connects the act of listening with a wider environmental purpose. The audience can take part through music rather than simply hear a sustainability message.

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Warner Music: Letting the audience hear the product

Warner Music Group used Audiomob's in-game audio advertising to promote Joel Corry and MNEK's single Head & Heart. The campaign targeted listeners in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami, using mobile games to introduce the release to specific age groups. Players heard a sample of the track while gameplay continued, accompanied by a small interactive visual element linking to a page with streaming options.

According to Audiomob's 2021 campaign article, the execution recorded a 3.19% click-through rate. This was a result from one campaign, not evidence that audio advertising consistently outperforms other formats. What makes the example distinctive is the creative approach: instead of asking listeners to imagine the song, the advertisement let them hear it, with a clear route to explore the full release.

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What these campaigns teach us

The three executions differ, but they share one principle: sound has a clear job. Hyundai used it to express cultural identity. Sounds Right connected listening with conservation. Warner Music let people experience the release.

None of these approaches is a universal formula. An idea that works in a rental car may not belong in a game, while a music sample serves a different purpose from a campaign built around cultural recognition or environmental participation. Audience, context and campaign objectives should shape the creative choice.

For advertisers, the useful question is not simply where an audio message can run, but what sound can meaningfully add to that moment.

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