Sonic Boom: Sound and Music Showcase
Schwartz – The Sound of Taste
It’s one thing for music to form a cornerstone of our
campaign and it’s quite another for said music to trigger some flipping
explosions! Soho Music and house producer (and classically trained pianist) MJ
Coles collaborated with Grey London and Partizan’s Chris Cairns to create a
piece of music that translated the tingling sensation of taste. The track was
then used to spark off explosions in a series of spice bags to create a
balletic symphony of sound and vision.
World Autism Awareness Month – Sensory Sensitivity
Munzie at Grand Central uses everyday sounds to bring alive
the oppressive experience of sensory sensitivity. It’s a great example of smart
sound design that complements the pulsing direction from Rattling Stick’s Steve
Cope and gives the viewer a just a taste of what life is like for people with
autism.
Stand Up to Cancer
Siren and Factory join forces to bring together epic scoring
and silly sound effects that give this trailer for Channel 4’s Stand Up to
Cancer by Smith & Foulkes the feel of a blockbuster kids’ film.
Words Kill Wars
Jungle’s Chris Turner works with Ogilvy Japan to recreate
the visceral horror of war without having to rely on graphic images. From the
slightly-too-tinny type writer to the scratchy pencil, this one is about the
extra little details.
Johnny Walker Blue – The Gentleman’s Wager
Eclectic were charged with composing the effortlessly chic
incidental music as well as dirtying up a 1950s party classic for Jake Scott’s
stylish short. What can we say, we’re in love.
Nike Cricket – Make Every Yard Count
JWT Bangalore’s crowd-sourced celebration of cricket saw
over 200,000 fans send in photos of themselves playing the sub-continent’s
favourite sport. Music director Dhruv Ghanekar worked
with percussionist Ustaad Taufiq Qureshi and sound engineer Joseph George
to put a vibrant and contemporary spin on the spot.
Catapult
The team at Sizzer Amsterdam dirtied up the sound of 70s
exploitation for a Les Gaulois and Havas Düsseldorf Citroen spot that saw a host of characters
relive their favourite TV car chases. Horns, ticks, scratches and, of course,
funky slap bass, it brings together Shaft, Rocky and every 70s TV cop theme for
an original composition that’s a blast.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Altitude Music recently got a chance to be part of the
McCon-aissance when they were asked by Sky Creative to remix the rebounding
actor’s iconic chest thump from Wolf of Wall Street. The team are so happy with
the result that they want to release the track.
Heart-stopping sound design for a heart-stopping ad. Nylon played with the acoustics and reverb to conjure up the impression of frozen time. We also loved the 'dull thud' feel that reminded us of that feeling that you get when you make an irreparable mistake.
Honda - Inner Beauty
Factory won a squizillion awards for its work on Honda Hands - and here in the sequel 'Inner Beauty' they're doing it again.
So you’re charged with finding the perfect track for a
collaboration between Diesel and i-D – you know you’ve got your work cut out
for you. It’s got to be cool, that’s a given. It’s also got to provide enough
variety to set off 26 different dance moves. Pitch and Sync stepped up to the
dance floor with this edgy track from New York-based rapper Le1f.
Save the Children – Most Shocking Second
Time flies in this emotionally brutal Save the Children film
and Factory’s John Clarke was tasked with creating sound design that portrayed
the passing of the days and communicated the drama and danger of a young girl’s
life. The sound design had to work particularly hard in this one – as the
camera was fixed on the main character’s face for the duration of the spot, it
was up to the audio to convey the action and atmosphere that the viewer couldn’t
quite see.
Sorry I Spent it On Myself
So you’ve all seen this Harvey Nichols’ Christmas ad from
adam&eveDDB and Outsider, which stormed Cannes this summer but please,
watch it one more time. And this time listen to the music. And then let us know
that we’re not alone in thinking that Siren’s re-record of Silent Night is
actively sarcastic. We mean it, those strings are absolutely dripping with sarcasm. We didn’t think lyric-less music could be facetious, but it
is and that’s a pretty impressive feat.
Guiness Sapeurs
Much like the gents featured in this award-winning campaign,
a host of music and sound companies came together to strut their stuff on AMV
BBDO’s Guinness Sappeurs spot – Wave provided the jostling sound design, Finger
Music synched up the strains of The Heavy and Massive’s MassiveVoices division
supplied the gravelly voiceover.
Visa – Bolt to Brazil
This spot had a lot of fans among the music and sound
community – Leland Music supervised on Visa’s 2014 World Cup spot with Ugly
Duckling’s ‘A Little Samba’, a track with the personality and tempo to keep up
with Usain Bolt.
Volkswagen – Made for Real Life
Felt Music bring the feel of an action-packed Hollywood thriller to the humble 60-second spot in this ambitious VW spot from adam&eveDDB and director Paul W.S. Anderson.
Epic Pool Dunk - Turkish Airlines
MassiveMusic ramps up the tension with a contemporary composition for Turkish Airlines' popular party trick. The slightly mechanical feel of the opening reflects the Rube-Goldberg-esque nature of the stunt and the track ramps up to a nerve-wracking finale.
Wolf - BMW
BMW " Wolf" Dolby Atmos Sound design & mix by Ben Leeves from GCRS on Vimeo.
Taken at face value, this is a pretty standard car commercial. But the lupine audio work from GCRS is something else. It's the first UK cinema commercial to use Dolby Atmos and it really is immersive.
Coffee vs. Gangs - Kenco
This spot was one of the most popular stories on LBB in August and small wonder. Great visuals, a fascinating story about coffee brand Kenco offering youngsters in Honduras an alternative to gang violence and some creative bravery with agency JWT London jettisoning the typical coffee marketing formula. But one of the most interesting elements is the music. Eclectic Music dug out a track by Honduran rapper Soccio, a left-wing musician who had previously avoided the ad world but was so convinced by Kenco's project that he jumped on board. Eclectic and Greek Street Studios worked with Soccio to create an authentic, original track with the real spirit of Honduras.
The Bear & the Hare
Well we couldn't leave this one out, could we? The John Lewis Christmas 2013 campaign was the most 'shazamed' ad of 2013 and managed to propel Lily Allen back into the tracks - an exemplar of what can happen if you get music supervision, artist choice and behind-the-scenes deals just right. The track got plenty of radio play, amplifying the department store brand far beyond media spend. Kudos to music supervisors at Leland Music, and of course, it would be rude not to mention the fluttery nature sounds courtesy of Factory.
