'Paper Planes' Takes Off with JWT Canada's Christmas Walmart Campaign

Developed by Toronto’s Vapor Music, and performed by local artists East of Avenue, the track was created for the retailer’s 2014 holiday TV campaign, which features friends and family coming together to celebrate the festive season. 

Right off the bat, “Paper Planes” really resonated with TV viewers. They found the tune to be so catchy that Walmart was flooded by calls from fans wondering about the artist behind the song and where they could find the full length track. That led to Vapor music working with East of Avenue to extrapolate “Paper Planes” and make it available in its entirety on both iTunes and Spotify. The song has turned out to be something of a holiday phenomenon. It’s already been downloaded over 1600 times in just a few short weeks, and is currently sitting at the number five spot on the singer/songwriter chart on iTunes Canada. A “Paper Planes” music video has also been completed and just launched on YouTube.  

“As soon as I heard the song I realized that we had something special on our hands,” says Joey Serlin, President of Vapor Music. “There is a real honesty and lyrical sincerity to the track. The vocal performance is incredible and it feels instantly familiar. I’ve had inquiries from all over North America and Europe about East of Avenue. Record companies, publishers, music licensors, all want to hear more of the band’s material.” 

It all started for “Paper Planes” when ad agency JWT Toronto asked Vapor to create an original track that captured the spirit  and essence of family over the holiday season. The brief was tackled by Vapor’s Sean Fischer, one half of singer/songwriter project East of Avenue, who crafted the song’s sincere lyrics. The vocals were provided by East of Avenue’s other half, Noel Thomson, a special vocalist indeed.  

“The song started off as a small idea I had partially written a few months ago that tells the story of a lovesick traveller,” explains Fischer. “I knew it would be a perfect fit for the campaign because of its playful melodies and simple lyrics. The themes of family and coming together inspired the production to include a bed of rich acoustic guitars as well as some subtle holiday undertones such as bells and glockenspiels — no electronic elements whatsoever. I then called Noel to lay down some simple vocals. He effortlessly recorded the 30-second spot and it was instant magic.”

 

“Paper Planes’” success has been something of a catalyst for East of Avenue, driving the band to begin work on a six-song EP that’ll be ready right in time for the holidays - it’s launching December 24th.