Thursday, July 2, 2009

Budweiser Lyrics - TV Ad


Last night I had the pleasure of attending a great blogger preview of the new Budweiser Lyrics TV ad, hosted by WHPR. The event was introduced by Charles Wong, Budweiser Marketing Manager, and Matt Delahunty, DDB Account Director, and gave a crowded room of bloggers first glimpse at Budweiser's latest TV outing. The ad itself will go live on the 4th July, coinciding with Independence Day, and is the first Budweiser ad to be created for a foreign market that will also feature in the US.

The ad is driven by The Beatles song ‘All together now’ and is shot entirely from a moving train going around Chicago's L track. As it passes different people and locations, the lyrics to the song are spelt out in fun ways. Total filming time took 50 hrs over a 5 day period, in some serious cold temperatures. Obviously the logistics of all of this should not be lost - consider that every missed take required a full loop of the track to get back to the shot location. This meant that everyone had to be in perfect position at the exact moment needed. Beyond this it was also necessary to make sure that for each shot the train was going at the right speed to catch the action and keep in time to the music.

The ad also marks a first, as it will mark the launch of Sky’s Green Button technology. What this means is that the ad will appear exclusively through sky's system for the first week of the campaign.

So without further delay, the ad...



I have to say I absolutely love the ad. I've always loved 'All Together Now' but in this case I think it perfectly fits with the positioning and attitude that Diageo are trying to reflect. In the context of the current global economic situation the emotions drawn from the ad are exactly what people want - a 'pull together', 'can do' , 'get it done' attitude. Obviously this also fits in brilliantly with Obama's America.

The ad also forms the backdrop to a larger digital campaign based around the new Alltogethernow.ie Website (going live this Saturday 4th July). The site calls for people to upload their own take of one of the 'lyrics' through a video or photo of themselves holding up a number, letter or word. The site also provides behind the scenes footage, Director’s tips and a host of other content.

The ad was Written by Dave Henderson and Richard Denney, and filmed by Director Chris Palmer. The music was performed by ‘The Hours’.

Also, check out this great video from Krishna De of her interviewing Matt from DDB's last night:



Finally, a huge thank you to Cliodhna, Kate and Ruth for a great evening.

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