Surprise! Your Favorite Summer Jam Is Really About Chewing Gum

Wrigley's 'Seeds' Chris Brown Track for Later Jingle Campaign

Posted by Mike Tunnicliffe and Charlie Moran in Ad Age 'Songs For Soap' on 07.29.08 @ 04:33 PM

Photo illustration: Charlie Moran

A story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal went behind the scenes on a story first featured in Billboard a couple of weeks back about rapper Ne-Yo, R&B performer Chris Brown and country singer Julianne Hough (a professional contestant on "Dancing With the Stars"), who have all reworked classic Wrigley's jingles for a new campaign. Ne-Yo will rap about Big Red with a reworked "Kiss a little longer" jingle, and Hough has recorded a "twangy" version of Juicy Fruit's "The taste is gonna move ya," but Brown's contribution almost works in reverse.

Last year, after reportedly writing the new Doublemint jingle in 30 minutes, Brown and producer Polow Da Don expanded it to a full-length song and "seeded" it as a single called "Forever," well before the campaign was announced. It was included in his 2007 album "Exclusive," which was re-released last month, and the song shot to the top of the Billboard 100. Only now has Wrigley come out and revealed the intent and funding of the track, whose subtle references to the classic Doublemint jingle ("double your pleasure / double your fun") will be emphasized in an upcoming TV spot.

The deal was put together by Interpublic's Translation Advertising, who commented, "By the time the new jingle came out, it was already seeded properly within popular culture."

While hip-hop artists have plugged into virtually every high-end brand from Cartier to Versace in their song lyrics, this is the first time (to our knowledge) that a branded song like this has been delivered to the public in such a covert fashion. It was well-executed, but we don't necessarily see this as the start of a big new trend. Luckily for Wrigley, the song is a hit, but a feeling of deception may leave a bad taste in some consumers' mouths.

Full disclosure: SFS would have picked t.A.T.u. and dressed them up as the Doublemint twins.

Here's the full song:

Jay-Z Moves Into Madison Avenue
Rapper, Club Owner, Fashion Designer, Icon and Now Adman

Posted by Mike Tunnicliffe in Ad Age Songs For Soap on 02.11.08

Jay-Z -- real name Shawn Carter -- is partnering with Interpublic Group to open Translation Advertising in New York, an agency that will help marketers reach multicultural consumers.

Jay-Z will be using using 'his eye, his taste, his understanding of the culture' at Translation Advertising.

The former head of Def Jam records is one of the most successful hip-hop entrepreneurs, who, as well as being a recording artist, owner of New Jersey Nets and creator of the Roc-A-Wear clothing line, has increasingly been called on as a marketer; he's partnered with Budweiser, Elizabeth Arden and others as a marketing and brand advisor.

The new agency will be part of Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging, the leading urban marketing and branding agency created by African-American entrepreneur Steve Stoute, which Interpublic (full disclosure: I used to work there) acquired last year for an estimated $10-15 million. Interpublic will own 49 percent of Translation Advertising, with 51% owned by Mr. Stoute, 37, and Jay-Z, 38, who will be the co-chairmen.

Jay-Z said in an interview in the New York Times that his role at Translation Advertising would be "to offer his creative and entrepreneurial ideas." Mr. Stoute described it as not "day-to-day operations," but rather "using his eye, his taste, his understanding of the culture."

This is undoubtedly an interesting move for Interpublic, as it enables them to further focus in on the growing African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American populations, which now account for an estimated $2 trillion in consumer buying power. But it's also an interesting move as it is yet another new business model coming to market in the world of artists and brand marketing.