"What's the difference between a music video and a commercial?"
The joke answer is it pays $300k more for three fewer minutes.
The real answer is "not much." Product placements in music videos are nothing new — all those videos with people wearing Beats and drinking Ciroc while driving a Mini aren't coincidences — and neither is having recording artists as commercial stars.
But the Grammys seemed like a watershed moment where nearly every ad had a musician in it — from established stars like Pink for Covergirl and newcomers like Hunter Hayes for Pepsi — and lots of them were directed by names familiar to music video watchers.
Here's a look at some that caught my eye(s):
Ingrid Michaelson "Good Day Sunshine" for Tropicana (Paul Weiland, director)
I hate to use the word "adore" in public, but I really adored this spot. Ingrid Michaelson does an approrpriately sunny revamp of The Beatles classic "Good Day Sunshine" while director Paul Weiland nails a light-hearted and airy vibe that's reminiscent of the Spike Jonze "It's Oh So Quiet" Bjork video. Also, I think George Harrison would approve of the ukulele.
Justin Timberlake for Target (Marc Klasfeld, dir.) and Bud Light Platinum (NABIL, dir.)
The Justin Timberlake comeback crossed over from the Grammy stage to the comercials. Director Marc Klasfeld's Target spot was a simple, yet stylist teaser for the store's exclusive version of JT's forthcoming album, 20/20 Experience.
The Bud Light Platinum advert was much more involved — perhaps due to JT's role as the brand's creative director — letting NABIL grind into the mysterious and sultry shadows of the "Suit And Tie" vibe.
Frank Ocean "Forrest Gump" (Hiro Murai, dir.)
The most impactful video moment actually took place on-stage during Frank Ocean's perfectly choreographed "Forrest Gump" walk-in-place performance. Two screens — a large backdrop and a smaller screen obscuring the singer's legs as he played keyboard — worked in-sync to give a perfect illusion of motion. Director Hiro Murai might have a lucrative (?) future as a video stage designer (hello, Frank Ocean world tour?) or as a music video creative turned video installation artist like Doug Aitken. Or heck, there's always commercials.
