In response to the popularity of original music used in recent TV commercials for its bathroom cleaning products, The Clorox Co. is bringing the music into its consumers’ lives and raising money for children’s school music education.
“We kept hearing from people who wanted to know more about the music in the commercials and we wanted to do something creative with the songs,” said Frank Brooks, director of production at DDB Worldwide, San Francisco. “Rather than just post them on the site, we decided to do the CD and help raise money for charity.”
In a new effort, created in conjunction with DDB Worldwide in San Francisco, the cleaning supply manufacturer has released its first CD called The Blue Sky Project: A Clorox Charity Collection. Music performed on the CD includes original compositions, as well as recordings from independent artists featured in Clorox commercials. All of the proceeds from CD sales go to charity.
The latest effort is a departure from standard branding pushes and allows the cleaning product to extend its marketing message to its target audience of American families.
Music from the album features the songs from the 30-second Clorox spots, which were extended into full-length tracks by the original musicians.
Half of the purchase price will be donated to Music In Schools Today, a nonprofit organization that supports music programs in public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. The CD is available on iTunes, as well as on 50 other online retail stores. The Clorox Web site directs visitors to the nonprofit’s site at http://www.mustcreate.org/.
To promote the new CD, DDB has begun an online word of mouth campaign, which includes contacting brand evangelists online.
“Some people had taken the songs from the commercials and made their own videos and posted them on YouTube,” said Brooks. “We contacted these people and asked them if they knew anyone who would be interested in the CD and encouraged them to spread the word.”
The music comes from Clorox commercials called “Mermaid” and “Pirates.” These spots are some of the “Cleaner world, healthier lives” TV ads. The former features young girls swimming in the bathtub pretending to be a mermaid; the latter, a boy playing pirate in an overflowing tub.
“The idea behind this commercial was that you want kids to be able to be free to use their creativity and imagination and not have to worry about germs,” Brooks added.
The tracks “Mermaid” and “Pirates” were composed by H. Scott Salinas and Francois-Paul Aïche through Amber Music. Other songs on the album come from the brands spots for Clorox Disinfectant Wipes and Brita brand water filters. Each spot uses creative elements involving children and fun with either humor or nostalgia.
A Clorox Disinfectant Wipes commercial called “Touch Me,” depicts dirty surfaces calling out to the eager hands of young children and features a 2002 release from Iron & Wine. “Smile” also promotes the wipes, highlighting an impromptu father/daughter dance in the kitchen, which features an original song by Rich Wiley, a composer at Singing Serpent.
