Branding That Swings

Here’s a story of how branding (and to be clear, blatant cultural appropriation) created a worldwide musical phenomenon that helped launch the career of one of the most successful entertainment moguls of the 20th century. 

It’s also the story of how the son of Jewish immigrants from a small village in present-day Ukraine created a worldwide musical phenomenon by understanding and executing the principles of effective brand building—some of which had yet to be established.   

It’s the story of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. 

Looking backwards into history (and judging from the albums my dad had in his collection), I always assumed that Herb Alpert must have been from Mexico. Maybe he anglicized his name, I thought. Because the music … well, it sounded to me just like I imagined authentic Mexican music would be – adapted from well-worn standards and played by wizened veterans of the Mariachi circuit. 

Only it wasn’t. Not at all. More like a well-crafted illusion, created by a couple of innovative guys from Los Angeles. 

Finding the hook. 

Herb Alpert first picked up the trumpet at age 8, but his early success in the Los Angeles music industry was as a songwriter and vocalist.  

While attending a bullfight in nearby Tijuana, he was mesmerized by the clarion trumpet fanfares that would announce each new event. When he returned to LA, he and his writing partner Sol Lake jumped into Herb’s garage (which doubled as a recording studio) and experimented with different tones and attacks until Herb hit on just the right trumpet sound.  

Leaving nothing to chance, they contracted with the legendary Wrecking Crew (who played with everyone from Dylan to The Monkees, Sinatra to the Beach Boys) to create the track ...overdubbed Alpert’s trumpet part, mixed in some crowd noises from an actual Mexican bullfight and, voila … The Lonely Bull, a top 10 U.S. Single in December of 1962. 

Knowing they were onto a good thing, Alpert and business partner Jerry Moss periodically released new singles from their studio creation The Tijuana Brass (TJB), including a version of the song America from West Side Story. As the popularity of the Brass increased, so did their output. Understanding how vital new and consistent content was in building the brand, they put out, on average, two new TJB albums every year.  

The more albums they sold, though, the more requests came in for live appearance. Only there was no actual band to speak of.  

So, in another make-or-break moment for the brand, Alpert and Moss hired 6 studio musicians (somewhat less known and in-demand than the Wrecking Crew) to be the actual flesh-and-blood version of the TJB. All had dark hair, but none were from Mexico. Alpert didn’t try to hide the fact but didn’t broadcast it either. You could hear the music and now, you could see the band, decked out in glorious Suits of Light. 

And, as skeptical as consumers can be, this brand fit (or, more likely created) the image most people had of what a “Tijuana Brass” should be. 

Video pioneers. 

Speaking of seeing the band, that’s another area where Alpert and Moss were a step ahead, branding-wise. They created fun, colorful, evocative music videos that could be shown on the many variety shows on TV at the time.  

As important as the artfully crafted fauxthentic music was to establish the brand, the TJB team were also on the ball when it came to Shopper Marketing – creating an experience in stores that would help drive sales while keeping everyone talking about their brand. 

That did it by creating one of the most famous album covers of the 20th Century … the "they didn’t … did they?” cover to Whipped Cream and Other Delights. 

(The answer is – they didn’t. The model was covered by a white blanket that was strategically festooned with shaving cream) 

A billion-dollar brand. 

In the early 1960s, it’s safe to say, a majority of Americans had no idea what authentic Mexican mariachi music even was, let alone what it sounded like. 60 years later and over 70 million records sold worldwide, most people who hear one of the bouncy, feel-good Tijuana Brass songs probably think they’re listening to an authentic scrappy band of small-town Mexican mariachis who hit it big.  

And that, for better or worse, is thanks to a brand marketer who was decades ahead of his time.