Paul Hunter’s video is beautiful. And Q could very well be dope… but I’ll never know.
Why?
So President Dupri (smacks forehead!) is going to give an unknown artist 10x the platform of a “regular artist,” instantly making them the voice of Procter & Gamble’s body spray everywhere.
Or more succinctly, we’re going to be mass exposed to artists. And not based on listeners pumping their credibility through a combination of music or ticket sales, 5 starred music videos, high numbers of track scrobbles on Last.fm or word of mouth (Jesus Christ, I can’t believe word of mouth was the last item in my list), but through commercials backed by the deep pockets of male perfume makers… after being hand picked by Jermaine Dupri.
It’s definitely a smart short-term bottom-line investment for TAG! — the unknown talent costs way less to represent and promote the brand than an established act, similar to reality TV, so Dupri can cycle through the “artists” who don’t pan out — but I’m already turning the channel.
I couldn’t possibly see a train wreck down the road. You?
I can’t tell which one JD is excited by more: the body spray or the artist. Maybe that’s the point…
The association between major corporate labels and artists is strange..but with artists always in need of funding and corporations with ad $s to spend…hopefully some good can come of it?
Dr. Tantillo (’the marketing doctor’) did a recent post on his branding blog on this topic-–how a partnership with music artists could be a boon for P&G but also a potential liability: http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/07/10/brand-advisory.aspx
I do really enjoy the part where he goes out of his way to explain what body spray is, which seems to underscore the disconnect between the product and the promoter and implicitly disses the product.
His whole spiel is a tad on the surreal side, but then again, what exactly does body spray have to do with music?
It’s strange that musical instrument companies haven’t done this, though. It would seem to be an obvious match. The only one (that I know of) to do anything close is Eastwood Guitars, with their streaming audio of artists who use their guitars. But I don’t think any of them have started their own label.
i’ve thought about music companies sponsoring artists, but hardcore fans know that artists looking to make crazy cash won’t get it from a sam ash, mackie or eastwood guitars.
TAG! and Absolut both have deep pockets because they sell non-niche goods, so the acts they sign to either a contract or sponsorship terms will probably be looking for the quick exposure or the big bucks, respectively, not long-term career support.