Madonna and Unilever's Good Hair Day
Star Breaks New Single Globally Through Appearance in Hair-Care Commercial

Posted by Mike Tunnicliffe in Ad Age Songs For Soap on 03.17.08 @ 01:38 PM

Madonna debuts her new single "4 Minutes (to Save the World)" in a new Sunsilk commercial that hits the screens around the world today.


Madonna
Photo Credit: AP

The song, produced by Timbaland and featuring Justin Timberlake, is from the singer's forthcoming album, "Hard Candy," due April 29. The track will also be premiering simultaneously on multiple radio stations worldwide at noon GMT and will be available as a download tomorrow via the Madonna Store.

This is the first time that a music-brand partnership of this magnitude has been seen with a world-class megastar teaming up with a major marketer for a global launch. The collaboration between the Madonna and Sunsilk began with an appearance in the brand's "Life Can Wait" Super Bowl ad, which also featured Shakira and Marilyn Monroe, in a campaign built on the idea that hair, more than any other physical attribute, plays a crucial role in a girl's power of transformation and self expression.

The new spot traces Madonna's ever-evolving look, keeping the Madonna brand itself fresh and appealing. David Rubin, director of U.S. hair-care operations, Unilever, in a press release said: "Madonna continues to be such an inspiration for young girls by continuously reinventing her looks, and we expect the new commercial will also encourage girls to evolve by changing their looks and making their hair and lives happen in a variety of exciting ways."

According to unconfirmed reports online at the time of the Super Bowl commercial, Madonna picked up a cool $10 million for this brand endorsement. If that's true, it's an impressive amount, but, more important, it shows how a relevant brand tie-in that leverages the artist's brand equity can be a real winner all-round, for Madonna, Sunsilk, fans and consumers.

[Press Release]