IN THE NEWS: SAMSUNG IN MASSIVE JAYZ COUP

News and rumours have been in the public domain for some time and now full details of a rather monumental tie up between Samsung and JayZ have surfaced. Firstly, the deal is worth approximately $20 million USD, an unprecedented outlay by Samsung considering the current economic outlook.

Forbes online have it thus: “Samsung signed Jay-Z to a $20 million deal to give away the album on July 4th to the first 1 million users on the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, the Galaxy S4 smartphone, or the Galaxy Note II tablet. According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung also paid $5 million to offset the costs of the 1 million albums being released for free – $5 for each album download.“Magna Carta” won’t be available to the public until July 7″

There is potential now for brand and artist to forge a longer term relationship which could see JayZ affiliated artists following suit and providing Samsung with pre-release exclusives. There are often pitfalls when companies align with one artist exclusively, after all they’re therefore only appealing to one particular fan-base. However, perhaps JayZ is different given his mass appeal and position as not only a recording artist but also as a hip hop mogul with the ability to break new, global talent.

Click above for the 3 minute ad everyone in our world is talking about.

IN THE NEWS: DJ FRESH & SMIRNOFF PRESENT MINDTUNES

A great bit of work: DJ Fresh and Smirnoff have teamed up and today present a new track as part of an intriguing and worthy campaign. The project involves three physically disabled musicians whose brain waves and mind readings were recorded to deliver a rich, melodic pattern of sonic waves. Next, DJ Fresh steps in to finesse the recordings. The end result takes the form of his recent chart smashing ‘EDM’  cum dubstep cum drum and bass cum pop fodder. The track is available on iTunes and all proceeds go to a worthy cause. Click above to hear the song.

IN THE NEWS: EE ANNOUNCE GLASTONBURY PARTNERSHIP

EE have replaced their sister company, Orange, as the official Glastonbury Festival telco partner. The partnership, announced yesterday, will mean festival attendees can expect 4G services (as well as a general reinforcement in mobile phone reception) on site. EE will also be rolling out the traditional telco / festival offerings: line up info, artist info, maps and charge points. The Inquirer has more on the story.

IN THE NEWS: JT AND MASTERCARD LAUNCH 2 YEAR PARTNERSHIP

Today sees the launch of a big new partnership. Justin Timberlake, back on the scene with widely acclaimed new material after what feels like a lengthy hiatus (making movies), and Mastercard have announced a big US orientated, two year deal.

The partnership will officially commence with a private, cardholder gig in New York. From here, the pair will begin a co-creation deal that will incorporate content, “experiences” and more. Billboard have the full story.

IN THE NEWS: TAYLOR SWIFT AND DIET COKE “STAY EXTRAORDINARY”

Diet Coke and Pepsi are going head to head. As previously reported, Beyonce has recently signed up as brand ambassador for Pepsi, appearing in their TVC’s and debuting new material across the brand’s communications. Almost in retaliation (not really, these partnership ideas would have been hatched many, many months ago), Diet Coke’s new spot features Taylor Swift, another global heavyweight of pop, (thrillingly) supposedly in the process of penning her next single. Taking into the account the creative narrative of each campaign, the respective artists involved and the final executions, we’d say Pepsi wipe the floor on this one. What do you think? Click above to see Diet Coke and Taylor’s effort.

IN THE NEWS: CONVERSE SUGGEST “HOW TO NAME YOUR BAND”

A brand as well schooled and successful in music involvement as Converse can afford to have a bit of fun with it now and again. They’ve launched a new “How To Name Your Band” generator in the form of a YouTube video. It’s just plain fun and some of the band names they produce can’t help but make you smile. It’s low on interaction / usefulness but big on silliness! Click above and see what they suggest for your very own fledgling super group. We’re going with Lead Fleas.

IN THE NEWS: PEPSI AND BEYONCE TEAM UP FOR “MIRRORS”

Pepsi have a habit of putting together deals with mega stars so it comes as little surprise that themselves and Beyonce have teamed up to present a new ’60 spot featuring the singer reliving her past looks and dance moves. The ad premiere’s a brief snippet of her track entitled “Grown”. She will progress her involvement with the brand further by helping designing her own special edition can and she “will play a role in establishing the Pepsi Creative Development Fund, which will be devoted to the co-creation of innovative consumer content.”

It’s not ground-breaking but it’s a very big deal indeed. Read more here (USA Today) and click above to see the spot.

NEW WORK: BEROCCA “RIDE”

Today sees the launch of a new UK & ROI TVC from Berocca. JWT London came to us with a request to license a track that had worked well throughout the editing process. The song in question is “VacationNation” by Hooded Fang. Woodwork Music represent the involved rights holders so we approached them and cut a deal which will see the ad played out in stores and on telly up and down the country as well as being available to view online globally. The spot features some excellent cycling skills from Andrei Burton, one of the world’s best best mountain bike athletes. Click above and check it out.

NEW WORK: ORGAN DONATION “FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN”

We secured Nina Simone’s recording of “Falling In Love Again” on behalf of the NHS’s Organ Donation organisation whose mission is to improve awareness and education about UK organ donation and to increase the numbers of successful transplants here in Britain. The track really brings the highly emotive film to life. The ad will be broadcast in cinemas and across selected websites. Click above to see the ad.

NEW WORK: ETIHAD “THE WORLD IS OUR HOME, YOU ARE OUR GUEST”

M&C Saatchi approached us with the early stages of an ambitious new creative idea for their client, Etihad Airways. The eventual film (to be aired across a broad selection of global markets and media) would be an innovative, high quality production which would incorporate a split screen camera method. The agency requested we suggest a variety musical routes, the requirements were that the piece would need to have a certain cinematic quality, that the track would illustrate the pan-global values of the airline and that it would celebrate the wonders of travel. We put forward Bobby Darin’s 1967 classic, “Beautiful Things”, which fulfilled the requirements of both client and agency. Click above to see the spot.