VML and Tennessee Tourism launch Sound Bites

Agency VML and Tennessee Tourism together launched Sound Bites, a new platform that uses Oxford University–backed “sonic seasoning” the idea that elements like tempo, pitch and instrumentation can systematically influence how the brain perceives sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami tastes. 

Rather than treating music as background ambiance, the campaign transforms Tennessee’s musical heritage into an ingredient you can taste.

Sound Bites pairs two of Tennessee’s most cherished cultural exports, music and food, and uses AI and neurogastronomy to reimagine tourism and hospitality marketing for the state’s growing culinary scene. A docu-series of three available episodes shows how these artists experienced “sonic seasoning” come to life.

Sound Bites brings renowned Tennessee chefs and musical artists together to co-create new dishes and original songs designed to be experienced together. The campaign builds on research by Oxford experimental psychologist Dr. Charles Spence which shows elements like tempo, pitch and instrumentation can influence how the brain perceives tastes.

Sound Bites extends beyond the screen and invites travelers and restaurants alike to experience "sonic seasoning" for themselves with an interactive music pairing tool at TNSoundBites.com where they can create their own unique music-and-food pairings.

Commissioner Mark Ezell, TDTD: "For centuries, people have paired food with wine. Now, we're asking, 'Why not food and music?” "Sound Bites brings together two things Tennessee does better than anywhere else, bold flavours and unforgettable music, to create truly unique, immersive experiences that turn a visit into a lasting memory."

At TNSoundBites.com, users can enter any dish, from hot chicken to poke bowls. Powered by WPP Open, a proprietary agentic marketing platform, the tool can then Identify the key ingredients of the dish. Map ingredients to one of five core flavour profiles (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami). Use sonic seasoning information from Oxford University white papers, and match flavours to sounds (timbre, pitch, tone, etc.) that are proven to enhance the flavour when eaten. Finally, Tennessee songs by artists are matched to these sonic attributes. The user is then served a curated, flavour-matched playlist that complements their dish and experiences how different soundscapes can subtly change the tasting experience.

In this campaign AI isn’t just a production helper; it’s used to parse recipes, determine flavour dominance, and build a music-matching system rooted in peer‑reviewed research that goes well beyond just vibes.

John Godsey, North American Chief Creative Officer, VML: "Sound Bites isn’t your typical, passive ad campaign, it’s an experience that’s akin to adding gas to your senses and lighting a match. We took something Tennessee has always been famous for, its music, and combined it with something Tennessee is quickly becoming famous for; its incredible food scene. Similar to pairing wine with food, pairing the right song with the right dish enhances the dining experience in an entirely new way.”