It seems like a typical high school cafeteria setting – that is until a female student gives a knowing nod to her cohorts and suddenly the lights go down, the music comes up and the kids burst into a high energy fashion show strutting a lunch tables-turned-catwalk modeling the new back to school fashions at JC Penney. Setting the tone for all this action is a pulsating remix by Expansion Team Creative Director Alex Moulton of “Too Fake,” the first single from the indie alt rock band Hockey (Capitol/EMI).
Created by agency Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, the spot entitled “Lunchroom Runway,” can currently be seen in cinemas, TV and online at JC Penney’s dedicated website as well as on a Facebook page devoted to the retailer’s “Schooled In Style” marketing effort. The JC Penney teen website features the full length version of Moulton’s remix, and according to Moulton there’s been some talk about making the remix available as a download.
“The runway scenario might seem far-fetched to parents but I know that kids will identify with the style,” Moulton explains. “It also helps that the spot feels very authentic and not overly slick.”
Before he even saw the visuals, Moulton began work on the remix by taking the original multi-track of the song recorded by Hockey and slowing the tempo down to a foot-stomping 128 bpm (beats-per-minute) dance groove. From there he re-recorded all of the instruments, leaving only the vocals, substituting distorted guitars for a classic analog synth sounds and live drums for compressed drum machines. Moulton also changed the chord progression of the song and, to suit the request of the agency, reversed the structure of the song so that a part of the verse with the line “everybody’s watching but nobody cares” became the remix’s main hook.
“Before there was an edit to see I wasn’t sure how far I should push the remix, but then I saw the footage and understood that the creatives were really trying to make a spot that would resonate with teens and not their parents,” Moulton says. “These kids would definitely listen to this music. Saatchi creative director Amie Valentine and music producer Ryan Fitch kept pushing to make the kick drum louder and the mix more powerful, which was fantastic news to me. They wanted to push it further than most people would dare on a TV commercial, and I think that’s why there has been such a fantastic response from fans of the ad on Facebook and Myspace.”
About Expansion Team
Expansion Team redefines how music is created for today’s media by building a bridge between the recording, TV, film and advertising industries. Emphasizing authenticity, they create brand-based audio that profoundly resonates with the audience by working with recording artists who truly understand their fans, in tandem with expert guidance, music supervision and creative strategy. For more information check out: www.expansionteam.org.
Web Resources
Click here to see the JC Penney spot “Lunchroom Runway:” http://www.expansionteam.org/website.php?id=p116
Click here to see “Lunchroom Runway” on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1184559449664
Click here for more info about Expansion Team: http://www.expansionteam.org/
Click here to see the JC Penney teen site: www.jcp.com/teen
Creative Credits
Client: JC Penney
Project: “Lunchroom Runway” (:60, :30, :15)
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
Creative Director: Amie Valentine
Art Director: Chris Shipman
Agency Producer: Dean Shoukas
Music Producers: Ryan Fitch, Eric Korte
Production Company: Serial Pictures/Anonymous Content, Los Angeles
Director: Johan Renck
Music/Sound Design: Expansion Team, New York
Creative Director/Remix: Alex Moulton
Executive Producer: April Jaffe
Producer: Jean Kouremetis
Original Song: “Too Fake” Hockey (Capitol/EMI)
Editorial/Post: Cut + Run, New York
Editor: Tina Mintus
Assistant Editor: Adam Bazadona
Producer: Nicole Salm
Online Editorial: Method Studios, New York
Online Editor: Tom McCullough
Telecine: Company 3, New York
Colorist: Tom Poole
Audio Post: Sound Lounge, New York
Engineer: Tom Jucarone
