The rock song “Do It” by Spirit Music Group writer/artists, The Mooney Suzuki, is being used to launch a new global branding campaign developed by Ogilvy and Mather for business software leader, SAP.
A track from the band’s 2000 release ‘People Get Ready,’ the song was chosen among hundreds to complement the visuals of the campaign that extols businesses to “Run Better,” a proposition that is tied to the company’s tag line, “The Best Run Businesses Run SAP.”
“We’ve worked with The Mooney Suzuki for more than 10 years and have been able to keep the licenses coming because they keep making exciting, rhythmic rock music that stays in your head and seems to complement a wide variety of campaigns,” said Peter Shane, Spirit Music Group’s VP of Creative Services. “In the SAP campaign, there are quick cuts and lots of visuals which matched the energy and tempo of the song perfectly.”
Shane worked day and night with Ogilvy and Mather music producer, Peter Gannon, to help him identify the right song needed for the fast, cinematic campaign, which debuted recently in the U.S., Germany, Brazil, and China. Spirit is also exploring release of a digital single in conjunction with the campaign.
The campaign creative excited The Mooney Suzuki’s lead singer/writer, producer, and composer, Sammy James Jr., who approved usage of the music. “It has great energy, and I love the way the fast-paced images and our music propel each other forward. It’s so cool that a song I wrote and recorded on the first Mooney Suzuki album can now have a new life in an entirely new context a decade later. If we had gotten to do a video for ‘Do It’ when the record originally came out, it would probably have looked not too different than the SAP spot. I do actually play Fender guitars!”
James Jr., not a big fan of music licensing in his early days, came around as Spirit creatives brought a series of placement opportunities in film, television, advertising, and new media that seemed organic to his music and were clearly helping to grow the band’s fan base. Since 2003, James’s songs have been placed in national advertising campaigns for Suzuki Motors, Poland Springs, Mitchum Deodorant, Nike, and DKNY Jeans, as well as feature films ‘Grandma’s Boy’ and ‘Fun with Dick and Jane’ and in the TV show ‘One Tree Hill.’ Additionally, Mooney Suzuki songs have seen heavy placement in video games like ‘Madden,’ ‘NHL,’ ‘Burnout,’ and ‘Shaun White Snowboarding.’
James eventually parlayed growing relationships with producers and directors into scoring and acting gigs, appearing on camera in the major motion pictures ‘Tropic Thunder’ and ‘School of Rock,’ the latter for which he composed the title song performed in the film’s finale by Jack Black and the kids. Further, he was featured as a professional coach on MTV’s show ‘Made.’
Currently, James is developing several new artists and collaborating with artists signed to Warner Bros. and Tommy Boy Records.
