The self-titled debut release for the band Little Death Orchestra is backed by a 40-second spot, which abandons many of the conventions associated with music advertising. Instead of music video footage cutting between the most high-profile tracks, the ad, by Banks Hoggins O'Shea/FCB, follows a bemused record store shopper on a voyage of musical discovery.
The figure searches through a bewildering array of musical sections such as reggae and nu-metal, as the Little Death Orchestra's track, Shudder, plays in the background. Eventually, he comes to a category dubbed "uneasy listening", which is empty save for the band's CD.
The "uneasy listening positioning was devised by Naked, which was appointed to develop a communications strategy for Bowman's Capsule last October.
The ad launches on 29 July and will run for the next six weeks on VH1.
Burdett negotiated the schedule directly with the broadcaster. "It's not exactly Pop Idol sort of music, so we wanted to get as long a run for the ad as possible, he said. "It's not the traditional quick burst but cherry-picked spots over the period. The norms of music marketing were never going to work for Little Death Orchestra."
The ad was written by David Wolff and art directed by Jon Grainger, who also designed the Little Death Orchestra album cover and the Bowman's Capsule logo.
It is the first ad to air from the director Rob Kaplan, who features in the Saatchi & Saatchi young directors' showcase this year and has been signed to Great Guns. Post-production for the ad was handled by The Mill and MacMillion.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
