Grey New York and director Asif Mian of production house 1stAveMachine, New York, teamed on this video in which New York electro/pop/rock musician and recent Lorde collaborator Ryan Lott, a.k.a. Son Lux, performs an original piece of music (which he composed) on a keyboard linked to a piano rigged with Gillette’s new FlexBall razors.
The piano keys are played via a pulley system attached to the razors. The 3D pivoting head of the FlexBall allows for a unique range of movement as the razors’ handles strike the piano keys. The result of their tickling the ivories is artistically satisfying and stirring.
At the conclusion of the performance–which took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City–a pair of supers appears which read: “Movement Like No Other”; “Shaving Rebuilt.”
Zach Pollakoff, music producer at Grey New York, looked back on the genesis of the unique demo project. “The creative team was tasked with finding a way to showcase the movement of the new Gillette razor,” he recalled. “They had a music-based idea in mind, with the razors somehow engaged in playing a piece of music. We had a nice open dialogue about the possibilities, including how we could mount the razors to move side to side and what instruments could be played as a result. The product has a big range of motion for a razor but a relatively little range of motion for a musical instrument.
“We had initially thinking of the razors being deployed in helping a full band of instruments to play,” continued Pollakoff. “The movement seemed appropriate for musical instruments of a percussive nature. We started thinking about electronic music, a keyboard instrument, a piano, a marimba or xylophone or something like that. We ultimately thought piano was the best instrument for what we were trying to do.”
The client approved the idea, with razors lined up on a rig that 1stAveMachine would build. “As the project evolved,” recalled Pollakoff, “we suggested it would be great to find an artist to create an original piece of music–ownable by Gillette and unique for the commercial as opposed to a classical music piece which was initially suggested. Pursing that, I put the word out to various artists I admired, including Son Lux. We had him take a stab at writing a piece of music. All we requested was something that starts on one key and then builds to something grand. Off of that, he created some original music. Unlike most commercials I work on, we had no changes for the piece of music. What he did was beautiful and complex. It was a painless demo process.”
Pollakoff added that Son Lux was “fantastic to work with. His background is in writing for TV commercials and he additionally composes for films. Beside being an incredible composer who wrote a beautiful piece of music for this Gillette job, he also understood the challenge of being an on-screen actor. He was very patient on the grand piano–even with the multiple takes.”
The venue, noted Pollakoff, also added a lot to the demo. “We really lit the Hammerstein Ballroom dramatically and that brought an extra dimension to the performance.”
Challenging proposition
Asked what the biggest creative challenge was that “Piano Demo” posed to him as an agency music producer, Pollakoff first cited “finding an artist whom I respected to partner with and to write the original piece. We cast the net pretty wide and zeroed in on several artists whose music I enjoyed. Ryan [Lott, a.k.a. Son Lux] and I have friends and colleagues in common. I may have even worked with him earlier inadvertently when he was a composer at Butter. He was also suggested by Domino Publishing when I asked them which of their artists might be appropriate for this kind of job.”
In terms of Lott’s credentials, his three full length albums as Son Lux are At War With Walls and Mazes (2008) which earned NPR’s Best New Artist, We Are Rising (2011), and Lanterns (2013) which earned multiple year-end awards. Son Lux’s EP Alternate Worlds (2014) features four tracks reworked from Lanterns, including a collaboration with Lorde. Other collaborators include Sufjan Stevens, Peter Silberman (The Antlers), and Richard Perry (Arcade Fire). Son Lux’s film production credits include work on four major feature films, most notably Looper (2012) and the entire score for The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2014).
Pollakoff also cited the contributions of editor Akiko Ikawaka from Cut + Run, New York, and audio post mixer Philip Loeb of Heard City, New York. Of the former, Pollakoff related, “I’m typically not so involved in the edit of a commercial but in this case I worked closely with Akiko who is a classically trained pianist. Akiko brought a lot to the table.”
Pollakoff noted that there were two prime soundtracks–the piano track and the sound of the razors hitting the keys. “In the final mix as the camera was moving,” he said, “we were delicately fading between the two to find the right balance relative to what you were seeing. It was a delicate balance.”
Josh Rabinowitz, executive VP, director of Music at Grey New York, said, “The Gillette team here at Grey is a great example of a group that takes music super seriously and looks at it from a truly global perspective. We’re really excited to see what the future holds for Gillette music work. When the ideation process utilizes music as the inspiration, you can see the results as in this awesome execution.”
Rabinowitz and Pollakoff are part of a Grey creative ensemble that also includes president/global chief creative officer Tor Myhren, group creative directors Jeff Stamp and Leo Savage, associate creative directors Lance Parrish and Steve Nathans, and copywriter Nick Terzip.
Cinematographer was Zach Mulligan.
