It’s been 24 years since the last Bronco came off the line at Ford, so the iconic brand knew it needed to make a bold statement for the 2020 rerelease of its off-road workhorse. As their creative agency, Wieden+Kennedy’s internal team collaborated with Musicbed composer Ryan Taubert and Director Salomon Ligthelm to create a sound as epic as the campaign.
When you’re relaunching a brand as iconic as the Ford Bronco, there’s more than a little bit of pressure. It’s almost like remaking The Godfather. In other words, you better not screw it up or you’re going to have an army of angry fans at your door. Wieden+Kennedy’s team was facing this pressure head-on, and so much of their brand reveal hinged on the creative—specifically the director’s vision and the music.
The beauty (and terror) of creative projects is that things don’t always go to plan. Funding falls through, actors get sick, and you have to pivot your vision to something new. Then, you have the extreme version of that, which Director/DP/Editor Chris Murphy experienced during the production of YETI’s short film Kekoa.
Every composer brings something different to the table — their own style, experience, taste, and talent. Our Custom Music roster has some of the most well-respected names in the film and advertising industry for a good reason — they’re making music that’s unique to themselves.
The truth of the matter is, most innovative artists aren’t in it for the success. Quite the opposite, actually. They resist the “proven” avenues to success and continue to push forward anyway, creating a paradox: the most successful creatives are those not driven by success. Instead, they’re so driven (sometimes obsessively) by their love for a craft, they find the success they weren’t seeking in the first place.
If you want to hear Zane Callister and Jared Logan’s influences, just listen to their music. It’s incredibly simple and infinitely effective in the sense that it immerses you in their world. And, on a second listen, inspirations start to come through — diverse ranges of electronic, jazz, experimental, rock, and more. The magic trick they’ve pulled is to take two very different minds and put them together, not just to make something new, but make something that couldn’t exist without this creative reaction.
Composer Joshua Crispin’s story is a unique one in the music industry. Instead of spending decades “finding himself” and edging his way into a place of prominence, he cut straight to the chase. He knew what he wanted and, well, he did it. Of course, it helps to be a genius in the studio with a knack for drawing audiences into a story but we think there’s a bigger takeaway from this artist. His mindset is a case study in focus on a few different levels.
