Last month DDB San Francisco released a compilation CD of music tracks from select Clorox commercials. Half of the proceeds from CD sales will be donated to Music in Schools Today (MuST), a nonprofit organization that has been promoting music education in low-income neighborhood public schools and youth centers since 1983.
The Clorox charity collection CD, dubbed The Blue Sky Project, in a real sense underscores how music in advertising has come of age as entertainment unto itself.
Click here for SHOOT’s 2008 Spring Spot Tracks Top Ten Chart
“We’re seeing more of an emphasis than ever on music in advertising and communications,” relates Lisa Bennett, chief creative officer/managing partner, DDB San Francisco. “It stems from music’s growing importance in everyday life and technologies such as the iPod and streaming audio. People are discovering artists and new pieces of music and then passing them along to their friends. It’s a dynamic that communications companies realize that they need to tap into and become a part of.”
Frank Brooks, DDB San Francisco’s director of production, chimes in, “Music in commercials is now less about jingles and more about depth and storytelling.”
DDB San Francisco associate creative director Jim Bosiljevac says that for Clorox it all started with a shift in mindset from a functional product to a brand looking to make more emotional connections with consumers. And music is a prime means towards that emotional end.
Genesis
Three years ago, DDB San Francisco rolled out a new brand campaign for Clorox. The goal was not just to change the look, feel, tone and brand character for Clorox but to also develop something distinctly different in a packaged goods product category that is hardly known for stellar, engaging creative.
“It wasn’t just about great ideas, nor was it just about getting the best directors and photographers. We made an effort to break new ground in every aspect, with a particular emphasis on music because of its ability to emotionally connect with people,” relates Bennett.
The first TV spot to make its mark was “Dance” for Clorox Disinfectant Wipes. The charming slice of life showed a father sharing a spontaneous dance with his young daughter over breakfast in the kitchen. Directed by noted feature filmmaker Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, The Boxer) via bicoastal/international Moxie Pictures, the ad emotionally connected with viewers as did its music, a track titled “Smile” written by Rich Wiley, a composer at music house Singing Serpent, with offices in New York and San Diego.
This set the bar high as subsequent commercials in the “Cleaner World, Healthier Lives” campaign also registered with music playing a most prominent role, so much so that viewers began talking to one another via blogs and e-mail, and then inquiring directly to DDB, Clorox and the music/sound houses about the soundtracks and how to go about getting them. Assorted requests came in asking for a CD of the spot music tracks.
Among the other tracks eliciting audience response were “Mermaid” and “Pirates” which graced Bath As One commercials (directed by Matthias Zentner of Foreign Films, New York) in which we see kids’ imaginations turn baths into a tub full of adventure, replete with a mermaid and pirates. “Mermaid” and “Pirates” were composed by H. Scott Salinas and Francois-Paul Aiche of Amber Music, bicoastal and London.
“People wanted to buy the music. We received e-mails from people saying they would gladly pay for these tracks,” says Bennett. “Over the past few years, the music in the Clorox spots fit brand character while supporting stories that connected with our market. But beyond that, the music could stand alone and the public at large wanted more.”
This prompted Bennett to meet with her agency colleagues Brooks and Bosiljevac to look over all the Clorox music in recent years to determine which of those tracks would make the most sense for a CD compilation.
They also had to see which tracks could be extended and still maintain their entertainment value. After all, the original ad music wasn’t created with the intent of longer play on a CD.
With Clorox’s blessing, DDB San Francisco did its due diligence and found a mix of CD-worthy tracks. Hence The Blue Sky Project was born and released last month with a total of seven tracks–and initial sales have been fairly brisk.
Two of the tracks were licensed music while the other five compositions were extended to beautiful full-length tracks by the original composers and musicians.
The Blue Sky Project CD is available for purchase on iTunes and 50-plus online retailers for $6.93. Half of the purchase price will benefit MuST.
Clorox has guaranteed a minimum annual donation of $10,000 for the first two years of the CD’s release (translating to a total commitment of at least $20,000). The MuST connection is simpatico with the “Healthier Lives” mantra in the ongoing Clorox advertising/marketing campaign.
Lineup
In addition to the aforementioned “Smile,” “Mermaid” and “Pirates,” The Blue Sky Project CD contains the following tracks:
• “Smooth Day” was originally composed for a Clorox Brita brand water filter commercial in which people literally float through their days. Composers were Leonard Ian Dalsemer and Jason Paul Bonilla, a.k.a. The Elements, a group that worked through Amber Music. Gerard de Thame of bicoastal/international HSI Productions directed the commercial.
• “And Time Stood Still” composed by Kenseth Thibideau of Singing Serpent. It was the original track for a Clorox commercial in which two jubilant boys play in a mud puddle with the kind of fun-trumps-cleanliness abandon that only boys possess. The spot was directed by Errol Morris of Moxie Pictures.
• “Lion’s Mane,” a licensed piece of music that was the opening track from Iron & Wine’s 2002 release, “The Creek Drank The Cradle.” The track evokes the innocence of youth and was used in a Clorox Disinfectant Wipes commercial titled “Touch Me,” in which dirty surfaces call out to the eager hands of young children. The spot was directed by Warren Kushner of Partizan.
• And “Birthday Girl,” another piece of licensed music written and performed by Canadian singer/songwriter Andrew Rodriguez and his band, Bodega. The dreamy song captures the mood of the spot “Rides” in which bath time literally becomes playtime, with bathtubs taking the form of seesaws, carousels and swings. Director was Yael Staav who at the time was with Reginald Pike, Toronto. (She has since joined Soft Citizen, Toronto, and is represented in the U.S. by bicoastal Furlined.)
Tarang Amin, VP, Clorox Global Franchise, says, “Consumers were so passionate about the music that they wanted to play it at weddings and dance recitals. This CD has truly been created out of consumer demand. The Blue Sky Project is a great way for us to give something back and deepen our connection to our consumers.”
