The humor behind a new :60 spot for Qualcomm, “Prequel,” called for a very special song to make it work: Custom-made music and lyrics were a must, yet it still had to feel familiar. Agency Ogilvy & Mather turned to music house PULL and composer Mitch Davis to make it possible. 

 

In “Prequel,” a magical dragon soars above a major metropolis – but instead of breathing fire, he uses his powers to make people’s lives better. As he enhances a graffiti artist’s work, lifts a city bus over rush hour traffic and more, a breezy song evocative of a ‘50’s girl group elevates it all with the lyrics: “I've got a recipe/To make you smile at me/My mama passed it down to me as a child/I think I'll do a little cookin' tonight/With a little bit of magic/A little bit of dreamin'/A little bit of foolin' around.”

 

Writing lyrics for commercial projects is a welcome assignment for Davis, who has released multiple albums and singles under several monikers including Orba Squara. For Davis, the challenge was to create a new song that would resonate like a distantly remembered single from the past. 

 

“It needed to feel like a song that you might know, with lyrics that happened to relate to what you’re seeing onscreen without referring directly to what’s going on,” Davis says. “I wrote a song that sounded innocent, but with a touch of innuendo, like you might have heard on the radio back in the day.”

 

Working at PULL’s SoHo NYC studio, Davis added to the vintage flavor by carefully selecting instruments and recording gear for the track. “Since this is a track that could be of an indeterminate era, instead of trying to sound ‘old’ my objective is to not sound new,” explains Davis. “I used only instruments, microphones, reverbs and compressors that were available during the time period we’re suggesting. I also kept it simple, since they didn’t have the luxury of recording to 200+ tracks then.”     

 

PULL simultaneously created the score for “One Touch,” an extremely adventurous :60 spot in the Qualcomm campaign. As an active music artist, Davis has the distinctive ability to deliver authentic album-style tracks for commercial composing projects like Qualcomm’s “Prequel.” 

 

“My songwriting and record production background come into play every day at PULL,” Davis notes. “I look at everything I do as if it were being produced for a record. When a commercial sounds like it has a real song, that helps the brand to make a strong connection with the viewer.”

 

Founded by Mitch Davis and Scott Brittingham, PULL is a full service music company for all media, working from their New York City studios. For more information, visit www.pullpullpull.com