Hasta La Creative!

Blair Hayes of STORY has directed four spots for JBL in which the brand’s new wireless speakers give partygoers the illusion of attending a live concert by Grammy-winning rock band Maroon 5. The ads are the latest additions to JBL’s Hear the Truth campaign out of Detroit agency Doner, which features star recording artists and underscores the product’s quality sound.

Each of the new spots opens on Maroon 5 in what appears to be a live performance of their new hit song Daylight. However, when the camera pulls back, it reveals that the performance is actually happening on a playback device. The device varies with each spot with two cellphones, a tablet and a television featured—each spot also promotes a different type of wireless speaker.

“The spots reveal four different party situations each with a young crowd, but with a slightly different feel,” explains Hayes. “For Micro, a speaker about the size of a hockey puck, we staged a party in a kitchen with a 20-something crowd…another one takes place on a rooftop.”

The transition from the concert to the various party venues involved a cinematic challenge, Hayes notes. In each instance, the camera had to begin within the frame of the display device, then pullback quickly and smoothly to reveal the interior scene. “It required macro lenses and camera tracking, and the talent had to hold the device rock steady,” he says. “It is a lot to accomplish and tricky to pull off.”

STORY is represented is represented on the East Coast by Angelina Powers (646) 633-4578; in the Midwest by Dawn Ratcliffe (312) 491-9194, in the Southeast by Miller + Associates, (954) 563-6004; in the Southwest by Gossip!, (214) 288-2813 and on the West Coast by Susan Bennett (310) 827-8441.

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