Why Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss Reclaimed the Phrase ‘Rock Star’

Employing the help of iconic rock stars; Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Paul Stanley, and Gary Clark Jr., enterprise software company Workday made its bid to headline the Super Bowl this year. The spot focuses on the insight that people in the workplace have been misusing the term ‘rock star’ - using it to describe their colleagues, instead of reserving the title for the real headbangers and TV defenestrators of the world.

Created by ad agency Ogilvy and directed by O Positive’s Jim Jenkins, the campaign revels in the genuine antics of some of history’s most notorious rock ‘n’ rollers and comedically explores the lengths they might go to in order to prevent their hard-earned ‘rock star’ statuses from being diminished in idle workplace banter. The music icons are seen interrupting Workday employees before they can offer the offending hyperbolic praise: “You’re a rock star!” - busting into boardrooms and reminding the world of what makes a true rock star.

Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, the teams behind the Super Bowl campaign lift the curtain on their creative process and offer a glimpse backstage of Workday’s debut big game gig. Sharing their experiences from the creative and brand perspectives are Pete Schlampp, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of corporate growth at Workday and Lisa Bright, chief creative officer at Ogilvy California.

LBB> When did you start preparing for the big game ad? 

Pete> We’d been talking about the potential of doing an ad for fun over the past five years, and then started to intentionally plan for it the past two years. We decided to do an ad this year because several key factors were in place - we had the right story and script that felt true to our brand, we were able to attract diverse talent with huge star power to bring the story to life in an authentic way - this includes the ad’s director, Jim Jenkins, who I am a huge fan of.

It’s the right time to invest in the power of our brand… We’re at an inflection point. More than 50% of the Fortune 500 use Workday, and more than 60 million workers use our products every day. Given this reach, Workday is a household brand, and we’re starting to show up that way. The big game is the stage for that. We plan to continue media buys around our ‘Rock Star’ campaign, which will also evolve and become more global, with additional creative assets developed for key moments throughout the year.

Lisa> We got the brief and sold the idea last summer. It was a simple and clear awareness brief with the goal to be in the top 25 on the Ad Meter. But it marked the first time we had to think about how to talk to a mass audience of two billion people, not the narrower HR and finance audience who already know what Workday is. 

LBB> Where did the insight about people calling each other ‘rock stars’ come from? Is this something that the team or Workday had noticed personally in the office?

Lisa> We of course went through tons of ideas, but ‘Rock Star’ immediately rose to the top. It comes from such an inherent and familiar behaviour that everyone can identify with and has even been riffed off in commercials before, but the twist and the execution were so fresh and smart. By getting the coolest people on the planet to tell us we’re not that cool, we are inadvertently telling the world we are cool.

Pete> Our core values guide everything that we do, and one of them is ‘fun’. So when we heard ‘rock star’ being used in the corporate world, that sparked the idea for the creative campaign, in collaboration with our partner Ogilvy. We wanted to lean into that and engage and entertain viewers, leaving them with the takeaway of, ‘Use Workday and it’ll make you a rock star’.

We developed a proof of concept, recruiting a real rock star to do a test, which we then pitched to a C-level, external advisory board last summer. It brought down the house in laughter and we knew we had something special. The ad helps tell a story that is true to our brand’s voice – celebrating employees in a way that’s authentic while communicating the value of Workday… We laugh at ourselves a bit, too. We wanted to show that our products matter - we’re shaping the world of work. 

LBB> How was the process of getting the rock stars involved and then writing dialogue for them? What are some of your favourite lines/deliveries from the cast?

Pete> We partnered closely with Ogilvy to source talent. The end result was a diverse group of rock stars with immediate name and visual recognition, and a history of stories the ad could lean into. We believe that big moments require big stars, and by working with iconic rock stars, it helped us accomplish our goal to entertain viewers. Who better to do that than five professional entertainers with tremendous talent? 

Lisa> As you can imagine, we had lots of debates and conversations on the rock stars. Who? How many? Do they have to be pure rock stars? The lists were really long. But diversity was really important to us, as well as rock stars that could pull off the humour and garner that respect. Getting the rock stars on board was definitely the longest part of the process. Not just from a sorting out contract’s perspective, but they all want to know who else is involved and you need to make sure you’re giving them all their fair share of the spotlight. 

Jim is obviously an amazing director, but also an incredible writer. He just knew what was needed to adapt the scripts for each of our rock stars’ distinctive personalities that would naturally draw out the best comedic moments that only each of them could deliver. I especially love: “I’ve done my share of bad things, and your share of bad things.”

LBB> What moment during the creative process or production provided you with the most satisfaction? 

Lisa> Honestly, and I say this solely from a creative perspective (producers would have a different story I’m sure), despite the nature of the entire situation, it was fairly smooth. We had an amazing team at Ogilvy, incredible clients, and the best production partners there are. [There were] so many great moments. Standing on the stage of the Greek Theater while Gary Clark Jr. was riffing on his guitar was up there. 

Pete> You review storyboards, read scripts, select the cast members via screen tests, and review hundreds of edits, but being on set really is the moment of truth. That’s where the director of the ad comes in, and we’re so fortunate to have worked with Jim Jenkins – he’s incredibly talented with a great eye for storytelling and humour. Seeing him engage on set with our rock star talent, particularly in their natural settings and then in their not-so-natural office settings, was incredibly rewarding and funny. 

A classic comment from Ozzy Osbourne on set was, “I've got to say, the thought of making a boss happy really annoys me…"

LBB> How does it feel to see your work aired on the biggest stage in advertising - and one of the largest live TV events of the year? Do you feel that pressure during production?

Lisa> It really is one of the best feelings to experience in this industry. It’s the one time our friends and family get what we do. The pressure hit me after the shoot. I’ve said this to the team a few times now, but it is amazing how in such a high-stress, high-pressure situation, if you’re working with amazing humans who are all incredible at what they do, it lifts a lot of it. 

Pete> It feels incredibly rewarding and I’m proud of that. It’s a testament to the hard work and talent of everyone involved, including the Workday marketing team, Jim, Ogilvy, the crew and many more. We wanted this project to feel fun and bold, and we’ve accomplished that. We are so lucky to have such a talented in-house advertising and marketing team. This is really a differentiator for us. I had that butterfly feeling in my stomach when we first got on set. You prep and prep leading up to the shoot, and then reality hits when you step on set, there’s anticipation around that. Those butterflies were immediately put at ease once I saw Jim start to work his magic with the talent and crew. He’s a true professional and it really came through throughout.

LBB> What are the big upsides of Super Bowl ad projects - is there generally a more ambitious scale, or larger budgets for example? And equally, what do you not enjoy so much about big game advertising?

Lisa> There is nothing bigger or better. What I think is fascinating is the ad industry and the mass Super Bowl-watching crowd are very different audiences. And for me, the ambition is to have something that resonates with both. I’m not sure there’s anything I don’t love about it.