HOW MUSIC DEFIES GRAVITY AND CHANGES EVERYTHING
Wendy’s Discovers: ‘You Know When It’s Real’
In his AdAge review late last year, Bob Garfield described the new Wendy’s music as “a marvelously catchy and amusing jingle/mission statement”. Not a bad start for the new ad campaign that helped win the huge fast-food account for Kaplan Thaler Group a few months back.
“When It’s Real” has already been the signature on literally dozens of new Wendy’s TV and radio spots. The song, acoustic and organic in its arrangement, is deceptively simple—almost self-effacing—in a way that songs by Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz or Norah Jones can seem. For that reason it sticks, and begs for re-interpretation and new arrangements—which is exactly what's happening in a TV spot that features Rascal Flatts playing the song and on YouTube where consumers have gotten into the "cover" act.
Hats off to the team at Music for Picture, who worked with the agency for several months getting it “real” for the launch. “The beauty of a signature theme,” asserts executive producer Ben Davis, “is that it is unique and 'own-able'." We’ll take the bacon cheeseburger, medium rare, thanks.
A Song In English Tells A Story In German
A tender pop ballad (in English, no less) for a German financial institution? Of course! Hamburg-based advertising agency KNSK wanted an original song that would carry the visuals of a new spot for their client, German fund manager Union Investment. For this unique assignment, they called upon Nashville/Frankfurt-based house iV/iV2 to tell the story in song. With a creative mission to deliver a “real song” that was “on brand”, the composing team of Steve Keller, Beau Stapelton and Johnny Mann found their muse.
The resulting music more than met the expectations of agency and client. Not only was a TV :30 and :60 produced for the story, but a full-length song and accompanying video—available for download— were commissioned as well.
The gorgeous, plaintiff vocal was performed by Nashville-based independent recording artist Heather Bond, who was flown from Nashville to Berlin for the video shoot. No doubt, from Nashville to Berlin and the rest of the world, the musical walls are down!
Applebee’s Scores In Monday Night Football Spoof
Iconic ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman calls the play-by-play “live” from Applebee’s in this 30-second spot called “Two For Twenty-Football” (one appetizer, two entrees, twenty bucks, get it?), as two guys chow down to the end zone—well, end of meal zone.
Limebeat’s Randy Lee created the over-the-top sports theme for the spot, with enough brass fanfare and screaming guitars to make you feel you’re dead center at ESPN Sports Center. Music producer for agency McCann Erickson was Jonathan Lattif. Directed by Jaci Judelson of HSI, the recall has been “off the hook” for Applebee’s according to Lee. Menu please!
Jaguar Takes “Different Road” In XJ Launch
It’s a brand with an auspicious history of licensing music for their stunning commercials, from “Hush” by Deep Purple to “I Turn My Camera On” by Spoon. But for the launch of the redesigned XJ, Jaguar and agency Euro RSCG decided that a unique soundtrack should be created for the international auto show and Internet films that would introduce this vehicle to the world.
Bang Music was commissioned to score the seductive picture (car geeks will understand) directed by Gary Holder from Tangerine Films in London and produced by Euro’s Executive Producer Erik Iversen. The music, a luxuriously dark fusion of pulp rock and electronica, maneuvers subtly and organically with the changing scenes, from exterior performance sequences to the internal workings. From Iversen’s perspective, “In launching this new vehicle, it seemed important to create something totally unique musically...that could become intrinsic to XJ’s identity—not an add-on.” We have ignition.
OF NOTE: Heard Avatar Yet?
Unless you live on Pandora, we don’t have to tell you how this break-through film from director James Cameron is doing. It looks to us like the visual masterwork in 3D will break all records at the box office, surpassing Cameron’s own number one of-all-time, Titanic.
But this is our ‘Playlist’, so let’s get to the Avatar soundtrack, composed by two-time Oscar winner James Horner (who also created the music for Titanic). When we viewed the film, twice, we were almost unaware of the music, so swept up in the tale and visuals were we. And, as music professionals, we later thought, That’s brilliant!
Horner’s eloquent score travels the emotional and visceral spectrum from augmented, haunting silence to furious battle pitch. From supernatural enchantment to glorious, anthemic soundscapes. Delicate, sustained string lines…mysterious, other-worldly chants… tribal, percussive fights-in-flight. It’s said that the composer worked on the sountrack for nearly two years. It shows, in every sense of the word, how music can be the GPS system of human emotions—guiding the viewer through story, meaning, place, feeling. Avatar is a stunning example of what music can mean to picture. 3D? Make that 4D.
High Note: Roseanne Cash Finds GRAMMY ‘Love’ At NY Noise.
In addition to their prodigious history in spot music, the team at NY Noise have long written & produced for a special group of artists, including Joan Osborne and Michelle Branch. Now their work on Roseanne Cash's new CD “The List” is up for a GRAMMY. Roseanne is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration (w/Bruce Springsteen) for the song “Sea Of Heartbreak”, which was co-produced by songwriter/guitarist John Leventhal and NY Noise CD Rick DePofi, who mixed as well. Their Shawn Colvin "Live" CD is also up for a Best Album Award. Now that’s makin’ some noise.
Till next Playlist, start your new decade right. Turn it up! www.ampnow.com
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