The GRAMMYs property owner The Recording Academy taps into fans visceral reaction to music in its promotional campaign for the 56th annual GRAMMY Awards – ‘Music Unleashes Us’.
Working in partnership with long term agency partner TBWA\Chiat\Day, the promotional initiative leverages the insight that humans have ‘natural, sometimes uncontrollable, visceral reactions to music’ and features reactions ranging from laughing and crying, to screaming and dancing.
‘Music Unleashes Us’ is a multi-platform campaign running across TV, print, out of home, plus digital and social platforms.
The campaign launched with a set of four films celebrating iconic moments from previous GRAMMY Awards shows and featuring candid moments of fan reaction to the music.
The first film, ‘Anthem’, features a soundtrack from Eminem and began rolling out during the GRAMMY Nominations Concert.
The additional three films have a humorous twist and feature music from Katy Perry,
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Pink and Nate Ruess.
To connect the TV work with online platforms and social media channels, the campaign features the first ever ‘backmasked’ rich media film.
Aping the approach of major 70s musicians who ‘backmasked’ their albums, the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis film includes hidden footage when played backwards.
On Instagram and Vine, the initiatives includes a further series of short films showcasing people being unleashed by music. Uploaded with the tag #MusicUnleashes, viewers are encouraged to share clips of friends ‘busting out moves’.
As well as uploading their video clips, fans are also asked to send in GIFs of unleashing moments and these are available for sharing on GRAMMY.com.
The interactive and online campaign also includes web banners modelled after the initiative’s print and outdoor artwork.
Comment
The campaign for the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which were held on 26 January at Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS, marks a tweak to the rights holder’s previous promotional approach
In previous years GRAMMYs campaigns from the property owner have focused on either the artists or the fans and have also focused on new tech-led music platforms.
But this year’s work is based on an insight that both the musicians and the listeners share – a common bond that connects both fans and artists – the feelings you get from listening to music.
As TBWA\Chiat\Day Creative Director Rick Utzinger says: ‘This campaign celebrates the undeniable human truth that we are powerless against music.’
‘It will tap our toes and shake our hips for us, whether we want to or not,’ adds TBWA\Chiat\Day Creative Director Bob Rayburn.
Links
GRAMMYs Website
GRAMMYs Twitter
GRAMMYs Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheGrammys
TBWA/ChiatDay
