My work on this campaign has won a Grand Clio Music Award for Use of Music Innovation!
General Motors’ latest brand film is a vivid reimagining of the factory floor as a recording studio – where every cinch of metal, lick of paint and line of code plays a role in composing something greater than the sum of its parts. The goal was to take an iconic song and completely dissect it – breaking it down stem-by-stem, using each piece of instrumentation to represent a different stage in GM’s manufacturing line. The process involved meticulous orchestration, sound design and choreography, culminating in a performance on the actual factory floor in Michigan—where we played aloud a set of newly refreshed and reworked stems, and coordinated the physical movements of each department with their respective instrument. Originally conceived by David Droga, the idea evolved over the better part of a decade, and would ultimately become his final campaign before retirement. Throughout the film, we’d see – and hear – each discipline at work, crafting and refining as if they were musicians in a songwriting session, playing and iterating in rhythm as they find their way to that perfect melody. As the car comes together, so does our song, joining in chorus as the engine roars to life. In the words of director Jovan Todorović – “the building of the car isn’t scored by the music; it is the music”.
