Today’s television audiences are inundated with messages from a myriad of sources such as 24-hour news channels, reality series, entertainment programs, and talk shows. Because information comes from so many different directions–and viewers are bombarded by ads outside of TV–clients and agencies are working harder to engage and educate consumers about brands.
One way to stand out in the loud and crowded marketplace is with a catchy, well-known tune–or the voice behind a well-known tune. More and more, advertising agencies are teaming with established artists to catch viewers’ attention. In fact, collaborations with notable musicians sometimes begin with a meet-and-greet-and-perform at a shop, or with a prior relationship between an artist and creative. Forging these relationships benefits both sides–artists can increase their exposure, and in some case record sales, while agencies associate the brands they work for with artists viewers respond to.
In the case of “Hello Tomorrow,” which introduced the adidas_1 shoe–a sneaker with an in-sole computer–Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performed an original song that drove the spot’s action. Sam Spiegel of Squeak E. Clean, Los Angeles, composed the track; Spike Jonze (Spiegel’s brother) of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) directed the spot for TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco. A complete version of the song that appeared in the spot is available on iTunes, and earlier this summer, the track earned “Hello Tomorrow” the first-ever Lion for excellence in music at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.
Chuck McBride, creative director North America and executive creative director of TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco, and the copywriter on “Hello Tomorrow,” relates that Karen O became involved in the spot because of a personal relationship with Jonze. Interscope, O’s label, arranged for the song to appear on iTunes, where at one point, it was on the top 10 list of most downloaded songs. With the success of the track, McBride notes that he’ll look to such collaborations on future work. To him, creating a whole song–part of which is used in a spot–with an accomplished artist is an ideal way “to contribute to culture as opposed to just borrowing from it.”
He plan to seek out artists whom he and his creative team feel would be a good fit with a particular brand, helping to enhance it in the minds of consumers. With “Hello Tomorrow,” relates McBride, “it felt like we had taken a visual artist and a musical artist, and we were able to get them to work together and do something that was consumed differently than taking a visual artist and then buying a track that already existed.
“What I have learned from that experience,” he continues, “is that the real novel way to approach famous music within your commercials is to go out and make it yourself. Just have the connections and the wherewithal to score the music and ask them to write a song for you that you’ll turn into a commercial, but don’t take one of their top ten hits and try to turn it into a commercial.”
Lance Jensen, co-founder/creative director at Modernista!, Boston, has collaborated with musical talents like the Cocteau Twins, Ian McCullough of Echo and the Bunnymen, and, most recently, Paul Oakenfold–all are musicians who don’t usually write music for commercials. Jensen finds that artists like these bring an honest and unique quality to the spot assignments they do decide to work on. Though often the connections with artists develop through labels and managers, Jensen met Oakenfold through a mutual friend, and hit it off, agreeing that they should work together one day. When Jensen was working on “Chairs,” for Hummer, he felt Oakenfold’s talents would suit the creative, and arranged a meeting with the artist, which led to Oakenfeld writing the spot’s track.
“Chairs,” which touts the Hummer H3, was directed by Daniel Askill of bicoastal/international @radical.media. In the spot, modern dancers use chairs to form a Hummer H3. The action is set to the beat of Oakenfold’s electronica-inspired music. Eventually, the chairs rise off of the desert floor and a Hummer H3 forms around the dancers. “Let the Dance Begin,” reads the end tag. “[Oakenfold] came to the pre-pro meeting and talked to the director,” relates Jensen. “It’s fun when you surround yourself with these amazing people because they just make you look better. If someone is as big as he is, why not take advantage of his talent and get him involved?”
CONCERT SERIES
With artists and record labels eager to get their work into commercials, agencies are being bombarded with submissions from record labels and publishing companies. Some agencies have set up programs whereby artists come to the shop, perform a set, and meet with creatives and producers. Leo Burnett USA, Chicago, has a program called Artists in Residence, while Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), New York, hosts an informal concert series, which began last year. The goal is to acquaint creatives and producers with artists, in the hopes that music can be licensed, or that the artists might be interested in composing an original tune for a spot or campaign. The concerts at FCB are scheduled depending on availability and what groups and artists are hot at the moment–the agency hosted two concerts last month. Acts that have performed at the agency include James Blunt (whose album Back to Bedlam has recently climbed to the top of the charts in the U.K.), Tracy Bonham (“Mother Mother”) and Katie Melua (a top-selling female artist also in the U.K.). The series grew from luncheons the agency used to host for music houses. The current incarnation is “a time for people to essentially get the kind of view of an artist that a record label head would get,” relates Gregory Grene, a music producer at FCB. To Grene, who is in a band called The Prodigals, it seems like a tough gig. “[The artists] are not protected by the wall of lights and sound systems and everything else,” he notes. “It’s really standing up there in a very naked form, but they’ve been great about it.”
At Leo Burnett, bringing acts into the shop is an effort to connect with artists. The Artists in Residence Program has hosted groups like Collective Soul and Good Charlotte, as well as Chaka Khan. “We literally have the highest creative people in the agency come to these things, that’s how deals happen,” shares Ira Antelis, director of music at Leo Burnett USA, Chicago, and head of the agency’s Music Aid division. The first deal to come out of the Leo Burnett program was for Collective Soul, who licensed the song “Better Now” from the album Youth for “Milk,” a spot promoting Kellogg’s Special K cereal. (Luca Maroni of Plum Productions, Santa Monica, directed the spot.)
When artists come into Leo Burnett, they first meet with small groups of creatives for question-and-answer sessions. After the seminars, which Antelis moderates, the musicians perform several songs. The success of the program has prompted the agency to invite acts once or twice a month instead of on a quarterly basis, which was the original plan. “I think everyone who’s left, all of the artists, feel like they’ve really developed a relationship,” says Bonny Dolan, music producer/manager at the agency, who coordinates the acts that come in.
The connection between an agency and artist often develops through record companies or managers. Grene noted that he also scouts for talent, while Jensen said he approaches acts that he likes, sometimes by writing to them like he did with trip-hop artist Ben Neill. Jensen, who formerly worked at Arnold Worldwide, Boston, on the Volkswagen account, collaborated with Neill on several spots for the carmaker. (Neill continued to create music for Volkswagen and Arnold after Jensen left to start Modernista!.) In 2002, Neill released an album titled Automotive, which was based on music he created for VW.
Conversely, because of the concert series and the music marketplace’s increased interest in working on commercials, Grene said the agency is often approached about getting artists into projects. “The whole dynamic of what’s happening in music has changed,” he relates. “Advertising agencies at this point are really a major creative outlet–the dynamic has completely reversed; years back I think people felt like consorting with advertising agencies was a little [like] dealing with the devil and, at this point, we’re viewed at quite the opposite end of the spectrum. We’re viewed as a possible salvation for artists because basically what advertising brings to the picture is something that most labels cannot afford anymore: A certain kind of exposure and a certain kind of outlet to everybody who wants to listen to music.”
Grene worked with noted feature film composer Philip Glass–an Oscar nominee for his scores for The Hours and Kundun–on a Samsung spot last year. “If you use a major artist, you can get a kind of authenticity and integrity to what they’re doing simply by the nature of the fact that they’re not that flexible,” relates Grene. “It means that when they speak with their voice, it’s a very specific, idiosyncratic voice and that’s what you are looking for. And if it’s the right match with the right client, it can have a really dynamic effect.”
Josh Rabinowitz, who recently joined Grey Worldwide, New York, as senior VP/director of music production, has extensive experience working with artists on original music for spots. While at Young & Rubicam, New York, Rabinowitz produced several iterations of a Dr Pepper campaign that featured modern artists saluting musical legends (i.e. LL Cool J paying homage hip hop master Run DMC or Paula Rubio singing about Celia Cruz)–the point being that like Dr Pepper, these legends are originals. Rabinowitz also worked with artists Macy Gray and the Los Lonely Boys, who, respectively, recorded covers of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” and Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line,” for Sony, a former Y&R client. “I think, to cover a song and have an artist put [his] stamp on it and make it your brand, is just a beautiful thing,” notes Rabinowitz. “You have the value of the song, but since it’s done a completely different way, it becomes [the brand’s song]. You combine the value and the fact that it’s yours, it makes something stand out and you can have a really strong brand identity carved out.”
He notes that whether an artist is covering a song, or creating a composition, or if a song is licensed, in all cases, that music needs to serve the concept, and creatives and music producers need to meaningfully collaborate–often at a campaign or spot’s conception–for the idea to be effective. “I think we are very sensitive to making good music that has entertainment value,” he says, “and that obviously enhances and maximizes brand identity.”
BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Aside from the financial benefit, artists get tremendous exposure when they perform for, or have their work heard, on a commercial. Grene relates that sales of the Lyrics Born album “4th Dimension Rocket Ships,” increased after a track from the album, “Callin’ Out” was used on “Bounce in NYC,” a Diet Coke spot directed by Michel Gondry of Partizan, Los Angeles, which features actor Adrien Brody. The agency recently broke a new Diet Coke spot, “Loft,” which features the song “I Like the Way,” from the BodyRockers album of the same name. Francis Lawrence of DNA, Los Angeles, directed.
“It’s viable and important to get your song in an ad because it’s really hard to get your music out there,” notes Rabinowitz. (With CD sales declining and marketing budgets decreasing, it’s become increasingly difficult for record labels to break new artists.) Additionally, licensing for spots generates additional revenue for both artists and their record labels.
Also, in a world where the shelf life of a musical act is getting shorter and shorter, advertising can be outlet to increase career longevity. “At the end of the day, no matter what anybody tells you, it’s all about money on some level,” says Leo Burnett’s Antelis. “Twenty or thirty years ago, you sold records.” That dynamic, Antelis relates, has changed–CD sales are down, and a group or artist might not remain popular beyond one or two albums. Licensing tracks for spots or writing original music for them allows an artist to capitalize on his or her popularity, providing an outlet to be heard, and most likely, attracting new fans and selling more records.