DDB Los Angeles launched a campaign for Deus Ex: Human Revolution™, the third installment in the Deus Ex video game series from Square Enix developed by Eidos–Montreal. The cornerstone of the ad package, two TV :30s (“It All Leads To Adam,” “The Truth Will Change You”) featuring action–packed game footage, is a piece of original, emotive music created especially for the campaign by Transmissions, a newly formed duo consisting of Susanna Waiche, one of the vocalists for Dirty Projectors, and Kenseth Thibideau from the band Pinback
The assignment from DDB not only represents Transmissions’ debut song, “My World,” but also the formation of the band.
“Today, in cooperation with artists, agencies are able to create and use music on behalf of brands in completely new ways,” said Eric Johnson (aka DJ Bunny Ears), executive producer of music and integration at DDB. “Increasingly, we have the opportunity to collaborate on projects that go far beyond traditional licensing deals, and this opens new doors for a different kind of creative and production process on all sides. The musical accompaniment for Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an exciting example of that kind of innovation, and a great illustration of working upstream in the creative process to create something truly unique.”
To find the right music for the campaign, DDB initially conducted a music search, but soon recognized a need to break from the usual process for this particular effort. Working with Beta Petrol, the agency inspired over a dozen indie artists to submit their original take on the journey of Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s main character, Adam Jensen. After selecting the Transmissions song, DDB licensed the chosen music, which the artists have released as a full–length track on iTunes.
Bryan Ray Turcotte, owner/music supervisor at the bicoastal Beta Petrol, commented, “DDB has been a great partner on this project, giving us the freedom to experiment and take risks with creative direction and the artists we chose to collaborate with.”
Telling the story of Adam Jensen, a man cybernetically augmented against his will who finds himself in the middle of a global conspiracy to which he holds the key, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is set in a near–future world where humanity is at a turning point. By offering players the chance to play the game in vastly different variations, Deus Ex: Human Revolution provides an immersive experience where every choice has a lasting consequence.
The spot is airing on networks such as Comedy Central, Spike and MTV2. The title song, “My World” has been released in its full form and is available on iTunes along with additional tracks by Transmissions….
Coming Home Again Bicoastal commercial music company Amber Music has signed Andy Brannan to return as a sound designer in its New York office. Brannan has trained under acclaimed advertising sound designer Bill Chesley–starting with Brannan’s first tour of duty at Amber and then working the past two years at Chesley’s company, Henryboy. Brannan comes back to Amber after working on a wide range of projects including the feature documentary Freakonomics which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. Freakonomics consists of segments directed by Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Morgan Spurlock, Rachel Grady, Heidi Ewing and Eugene Jarecki. Recent ad work for Brannan includes a spot for Nintendo out of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and a NASCAR commercial out of Wieden + Kennedy….
GEMS Shines From Start Good Ear Music Supervision (GEMS), a Los Angeles-based music placement and licensing company launched in March by founder Andrew Kahn, has gotten off to a fast start, contributing to campaigns for Honda, Heineken, Toyota Prius, Pepsi, American Express, Lexus, Champ Sports and ESPN. Prior to GEMS, Kahn served as in-house music supervisor at TBWAMedia Arts Lab on the Apple account, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad and Mac campaigns. Earlier he was music coordinator for HBO’s The Sopranos….
Audio Branding Confab Expansion Team Audio Branding, Music and Sound Design is hosting the International Audio Branding Congress, along with the Audio Branding Academy, Hamburg, slated for Nov. 17 at the Columbia Faculty House on the campus of Columbia University. The Congress brings together professionals from audio, branding, marketing, scientific research and production.
It’s a one-day event featuring guest speakers who include Tapio Hakanen, head of sound design at Nokia, Paul Kalbfleish from RIM, Jerry Krenach, head of music at New York-based advertising agency mcgarrybowen, and Martyn Ware, founder of Human League who is also the confab’s keynote speaker. Also on hand will be people from around the world presenting various case studies and scientific research about how audio affects and/or influences different marketing/branding strategies….
DeepMix At Daphne’s Fresh indie music mixes are being featured at Daphne’s California Greek restaurants. Tunes from artists such as Adele, Air, Brendon James, Brett Dennon, Dangermouse, Deathcab for Cutie, Black Keys and Basement Jaxx are reverberating throughout the chain’s 57 restaurants in the Western U.S. and are available as downloads at www.Daphnes.biz.
The music program was implemented by Hollywood-based DeepMix, known for bringing cutting edge music to mainstream advertising and corporate settings. The music program is also being highlighted by live performances of an Artist of the Month at select Daphne’s locations….
Propeller Promotion Propeller Music Group, a bicoastal original music, sound design and music licensing company, has promoted Gregg Singer to partner. He joins founding partners Doug Hall, creative director, and Iris Schaffer, executive producer/managing director.
Day to day, Singer is the executive producer/director of business development at Propeller. Prior to joining Propeller, he served as the executive producer of Sound Lounge Radio and RadioFace in New York. Before that, he was on the agency side of the business, working at such New York ad shops as JWT, BBDO, CDM, Publicis, and Kirshenbaum Bond….
Hoot Of A Hire Los Angeles-based Barking Owl has brought music supervisor Liza Richardson aboard its roster. A well-known DJ on her self-titled weekly Saturday evening show on 89.9 KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., Richardson has become a leading curator of underground tracks in the music biz.
Richardson has supervised numerous films and television shows. Her TV credits include Friday Night Lights, Hawaii Five-O and Parenthood. On the feature film front, Richardson has The Kids Are Alright, Scream 4, Lords of Dogtown (with the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack “Y Tu Mama Tambien”), and the Oscar-nominated (Best Animated Feature) Surf’s Up.
Richardson has also worked on commercials for such high-profile brands as Bud Light, Target, Coca-Cola, as well as the acclaimed Apple iPod “Silhouettes” campaign. Her debut project with Barking Oil is an upcoming spot for IBM out of Ogilvy & Mather, New York.
Joining Barking Owl reunites Richardson with company EP/creative director Kelly Bayett. The two earlier worked together at stimmüng….
