Tourism Australia today launched “Transformation”, a new advertising campaign being rolled out in 22 countries around the world. Baz Luhrmann, known for his movies Moulin Rouge and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, was responsible for the television and cinema commercials set in New York, Shanghai and Western Australia.
Original music for the New York commercial, Billabong, was composed by Sydney composer and song writer Elliott Wheeler, from sound and music boutique Nylon Studios.
The music for the New York spot was composed and recorded within a 48 hour timeframe in early September. Film directors Baz Luhrmann and Bruce Hunt called Nylon Studios on a Friday night a month before the launch, asking for a demo to be completed by the following Monday. Elliott composed two pieces on the Saturday before recording them with a string ensemble from Sydney Symphony Orchestra on the Sunday morning.
Once the creative team had chosen one of the tracks further work included the addition of multiple layers of piano tracks to create a a signature sound for the main piano melody, and careful sound engineering and mix by Wayne Connolly. Encouraged by warm response to the soundtrack, Wheeler has written an extended version with lyrics recorded by Abby Dobson from Sydney band Leonardo’s Bride.
“We wanted to use strings, but not on such a scale that we’d be dictating to the audience what they were meant to feel, so in the end we went with a much smaller chamber ensemble. We put a lot of energy into finding a balance between the intimacy expressed in the dialogue, and the grandness seen in the cinematography.”
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It's very rare that I'm totally sucked in by an ad, but this spot got me to go test drive the car and actually consider buying it. I think it was the music.
Although come to think of it, I was also sucked in by the first Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries ad.
Ever eat cheerios and drink v8 for breakfast?
*edit - fixed link.
That link is dead when I click on it, so I'm answering blind, but no, I've never had cheerios and V8 for breakfast. Although I like both of them.
**Ok, now that I've seen it, I still haven't ever had cheerios (or frosty-o's) together with V-8 for breakfast. I might have if I could have sent away for a cool moon rocket though. Then again, I only turned two in October of '58, so I'm not sure I was up to speed on moon rockets.
That ad reminded me that I also fell for another cereal ad in the 60s. Alpha-bits included miniature (metal embossed) license plates for all 50 States, and I badgered my parents and grandparents to keep buying Alpha-bits until I managed to collect all 50. I made my poor sister eat cereal night and day so we could finish the boxes, and I traded with my friends. The only one of those plates I still have is the one from Delaware, which strangely enough isn't embossed because the real Delaware plates weren't embossed.