Scion's Jeri Yoshizu on Advertising w/Hip Hop
Adam Bernard has an interview with Scion's Sales Promotions Manager Jeri Yoshizu.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Jeri Yoshizu on Scion's Hip Hop Marketing
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Hip-Hop News Plus Tupac Shakur Info |
Adam Bernard has an interview with Scion's Sales Promotions Manager Jeri Yoshizu.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Jeri Yoshizu on Scion's Hip Hop Marketing
Too Short joins Scion's "Live Metro" May concert tour in Minneapolis, Columbus, OH, St. Louis and Chicago.
4th Annual 97.9 The Beat Custom Car Show & Concert
More interesting news from Scion as they announce the upcoming release of some unique projects via Scion AV or A/V, their marketing lab/record label:
"Ghostface Killah vs. Rhythm Roots Allstars - "Charlie Brown," Scion A/V Remix: Ghostface Killah and Scion A/V Remix: 45 KING. In its continual effort to show support for the music industry, Scion covers all production, licensing and distribution costs for their A/V projects and then donates 100% of the proceeds back to the artists themselves..."
"Beginning May 6, promotional copies of the Ghostface Killah releases will be distributed at special Scion-sponsored events and will be available for free download on leading online retailers. On May 13, Scion A/V Remix: 45 KING will be available for purchase via all leading online retailers."
Among other artists the Scion A/V Remix: 45 KING includes appearances by Wale, whose recent signing to Interscope caught more than one hip hop blogger's attention, Pase Rock and 4th Pyramid.
The Charlie Brown tracks from Ghostface Killah and the Rhythm Roots Allstars are available at the Scion AV website.
Related ProHipHop Coverage [w/additional Scion links]:
Scion Speak: Create Your Own Crest Campaign
Wooohah offers a glimpse of the print ads featuring Common for the Lincoln Navigator though it appears to be missing any reference to the car. I'm assuming it's a partial scan but it gives one a sense of where they're going with this campaign in keeping with these suddenly hopeful times.
Previous ProHipHop Coverage:
2008 Lincoln Navigator Commercial f/Common
Common's Lincoln Mercury Deal Goes Beyond Endorsing the 2008 Lincoln Navigator
Both Fat Joe and Travis Barker shill for Cadillac at mycadillacstory.com.
No direct links allowed. No embedding of videos. This is a controlled environment. Thank you and come again. Please exit quietly.
Funkmaster Flex will be deejaying the Afterglow party following the 12th Annual Urban Wheel Awards that will be held at Detroit's Fox Theatre January 15th.
Sway will also be participating in some unspecified fashion, host or presenter, one would assume.
Official Site:
Urban Wheel Awards
L-R-G's 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa
L-R-G and Nick Anglada designed and built the L-R-G Hayabusa pictured above.
From the press release:
American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC), in partnership with Lifted Research Group, better known as L-R-G, and 2Wheel Tuner magazine, today unveiled a fully customized 2008 Hayabusa sportbike at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show (IMS) at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif.
Designed by L-R-G and built by Nick Anglada of Custom Sportbike Concepts (CSC) of Winter Garden, Fla., the L-R-G Hayabusa blends the panache of one of the hottest urban brands in fashion with the iconic personality of Suzuki's fastest production motorcycle. The L-R-G Hayabusa will be on display at the Suzuki booth through Sunday, Dec. 9 and featured on the January 2008 cover of 2Wheel Tuner.
Official Site:
L-R-G: Lifted Research Group
Common for Lincoln Navigator
Thanks to Corporate Takeover we can view this nice rip of Common's Lincoln Navigator commercial.
Via Nah Right.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Common's Lincoln Mercury Deal Goes Beyond Endorsing the 2008 Lincoln Navigator
Reach - Comin' For You
Kansas City, Missouri rapper Reach won the Scion NextUp Emcee competition around this time last year. According to Tony's Kansas City, the video for the winning song, Comin' For You, has finally made its way from Scion broadBand to the land of YouTube.
Common with the 2008 Lincoln Navigator
Common is entering a marketing partnership with Lincoln Mercury focused on promoting the 2008 Lincoln Navigator with additional aspects to the partnership.
From the press release:
Through an exclusive partnership with Lincoln, Common will appear in national television broadcast, radio and print advertisements, primarily focused on the all-new 2008 Lincoln Navigator. The first of the ads, titled "Common," will debut nationwide November 25 during NFL Sunday Night Football on NBC, and later appear on general market and urban schedules. The commercial spotlights the people, places and experiences that shaped his life in his hometown of Chicago. It segues to his present-day life as an enterprising, multitalented individual, continuing to reach higher, yet still deeply rooted in his community. His understated confidence, authenticity, and distinctive sense of style echoes the personality of the Lincoln Navigator. The print and radio ads will premiere in 2008.
Lincoln will additionally work with Common in developing other online and offline cross-promotional and marketing programs across his diversified businesses, including the licensing of songs for creative executions for television and the Web, tie-ins with Common's books and hat lines, as well as alignments with his concert tour. Common will also perform and make personal appearances on behalf of Lincoln at auto shows and dealer events, and be an integral component of the annual multiple-city Lincoln Lounge events.
Lincoln also plans to align itself with Common's nonprofit organization, the Common Ground Foundation, and will sponsor the first annual Start the Show n' Bowl fundraising event to be held February 2008 during Grammy weekend.
Common's a great endorser, in part, because he doesn't have Kanye's unpredictable behavior, 50 Cent's questionable nature or Jay-Z's tendency to overshadow all he endorses, though I guess nobody's too upset about the latter.
This obvious pr copy does a nice job of keying into the qualities with which endorsees wish to associate themselves that make Common such a high quality endorser:
His understated confidence, authenticity, and distinctive sense of style echoes the personality of the Lincoln Navigator.
And the fact that he's willing to explore a niche that crosses both conscious hip hop and pop culture means that sometimes he'll lend those special qualities to products that don't necessarily have to be safe or good for the environment. And that's money in the bank!
Funkmaster Flex has one of the more interesting automotive games in hip hop and his newly announced partnership with Microsoft to promote Windows Automotive is an excellent example.
That's a sweet, lucrative niche, no doubt.
50 Cent, Pontiac, JBL Audio
50 Cent's got some sort of endorsement deal with JBL, a consumer audio company who are described in their press release as having "outfitted rapper 50 Cent's (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) new Pontiac G8 performance sedan with an 800-watt JBL audio system, JBL PX600.2 two-channel amps and two 12 inch JBL P1222 subwoofers."
Clearly this builds on 50 Cent's relationship with Pontiac whose G8 GT and G6 GXP appeared in the Amusement Park video in the spring.
Also from the press release:
Installed by Unique Autosports, (of the television show "Unique Whips") the car will debut at the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
[Photo courtesy: Business Wire]
DMC Throws Peace Sign on a Harley
Harley-Davidson set up shop in Myrtle Beach, SC for Black Bike Week:
Yung Joc lit the crowd on fire while on-stage at the 'Harley-Davidson Experience.' Meanwhile, hip-hop forefather and icon Darryl "DMC" McDaniels was on hand to lead motorcyclists on the free Harley-Davidson demo rides, sign autographs and pose for shots with fans.
Yung Joc Onstage at the Harley-Davidson Experience
The Harley-Davidson Experience included:
demo rides on 2007 Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycles, a bike wash detail center for all motorcycles, free admission into the renown Harley-Davidson Traveling Museum, New Product Display showcasing 2007 motorcycles, MotorClothes and Parts and Accessories, the Buell Team Xtreem stunt show, three-point basketball shoot outs, pool, and a video gaming center.
A Study in Contrasting Moods w/Clifton Powell & DMC
Clifton Powell, who appeared in Menace II Society and Next Friday, was also on hand for the festivities.
Official Site:
Harley-Davidson
[Photos courtesy Harley-Davidson]
Yaris vs. Yaris - Fresh Kicks
Couching their campaign in a message of "respect for hip hop culture", Toyota kicks off Yaris vs. Yaris:
a fully integrated urban campaign encompassing the true spirit of the Hip Hop movement. Named "Yaris vs. Yaris," the campaign gives a playful head-nod to old school battles by pitting the Yaris Liftback against the Yaris Sedan throughout. Debuting this month, "Yaris vs. Yaris" includes TV, print, radio, online and in-store advertisements as well as a series of special events.
Lots of interesting angles here including both a sneaker design and a DJ contest in partnership with Complex Magazine and Radio One. But the coolest thing is the fact that the Liftback and Sedan are voiced by Dice Raw and Truck North.
I'm not sure what to think of the reiteration of the campaign's "respect" for hip hop from elevating the ideals to "encompassing the true spirit of the Hip Hop movement". I can understand why they'd take that approach but the statements seem to be a bit heavy handed. It may be a better idea to show respect through smart events, as they're doing, than to talk about one's respect, especially in the case of a major corporation trying to leverage subcultural values for their coolness factor.
Burrell Communications created the campaign.
Official Campaign Site:
Yaris vs. Yaris
Exterior of the 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition
Ford will be showing the 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex edition at the coming week's New York International Auto Show.
Interior of the 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition
I'm digging the interior. You can find out more about the vehicle and Funkmaster Flex's involvement with Ford at World Car Fan.
Seats With Funkmaster Flex Emblem
Business Week's David Kiley points out that Ford previously attempted to work with Diddy but it fell apart. Now Funkmaster Flex is solidifying his relationship with the automaker and will customize both a Ford Mustang and the upcoming Flex, a crossover SUV.
President's Rap for NY/LI Honda
Miraflor discovers a President's Day rap ad for NY/LI Honda Dealers:
click on where george washington says "click me to watch us kick it." i stumbled upon this on drudge report, of all places.
isn't that the best jibjab ripoff you've ever seen? i'm also seeing the ad on some ny centric properties- that's what admen/adwomen love to call "hyperlocalization".
It turns out that this video was, in fact, licensed from JibJab:
The spots feature visuals from the "Presidents' Rap" video (AKA "Founding Fathers") - but with original lyrics. The $1 million campaign was created by New York-based agency Della Femina Jeary & Partners for the marketing association, which represents 15 Honda dealerships in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens and Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
The campaign will include paid placements of the spots on YouTube and other websites, including those of AutoTrader, NY Post, Autobytel, AOL Autos and NY Daily News. Each online banner includes a "send to a friend" option in an effort to add a viral element to the campaign.
Biz Markie in Scion's Stomping Grounds
Scion's new documentary series Stomping Grounds kicks off with Biz Markie touring various New York boroughs with a Scion as tour vehicle.
The M&G Diner
The first episode of Stomping Grounds was created by Inform Ventures and Scion will be submitting it to film festivals and also seeking licensees for the series.
Biz Markie in Record Shop
In related news, Scion's Audio/Visual label is releasing a sampler cd from DJ Cutler, a 12" featuring Big Daddy Kane and a series of shows with the artists.
(Photos courtesy Inform Ventures.)
Jay-Z and General Motors have birthed an SUV:
The music mogul emerged from a concept GMC Yukon Denali SUV on stage Saturday during a celebrity-filled party thrown by General Motors Corp. on the eve of media previews for the North American International Auto Show. Painted "Jay-Z Blue," the SUV was developed through a partnership with the rapper during the past two years. Jay-Z . . . worked with the company's global color studio to create the reflective blue color for the SUV.
Paul Wall and Zenetti are ceating a line of "vehicle grills and wheels" cause bling ain't just for your teeth.
Scion is sponsoring a group of concerts with Redman, The Rhythm Roots Allstars and DJ Haul as part of its ongoing Metro concert series.
I'm not joking. Having a New Yorker say that "swagger" is played out is just too priceless for words.
Check Hashim's post to see which Honda Coupe ad finally pushed him over the edge.
Kimatni D. Rawlins, the man behind Automotive Rhythms, is now a spokesperson for Shell.
Travis Barker Joins The Game for AOL Sessions
I'm really interested in what Travis Barker is up to with hip hop and I think we'll be seeing a lot more of him. I actually wasn't going to post about Barker working with The Game until I started watching the videos on AOL Sessions.
I really dig the stripped down vibe and truly wish Barker's arm wasn't broken. I generally dislike live drummers in hip hop because they start to sound old-fashioned but Barker seems to have the right idea and I think he fits well with The Game both musically and energetically.
More importantly for ProHipHop, Chevrolet's sponsorship of AOL Sessions puts them in the interesting position of promoting an uncensored series of gangsta rap videos that are readily accessible by little kids. Hope they don't get bit in the process.
ARtv at the 2005 Vibe Awards
AOL Sessions is also running a Chevy/Slum Village spot that I think came out quite a while back. Couldn't find a copy but the above video by Automotive Rhythms focuses on Chevy's presence at the 2005 Vibe Awards when they were working with Slum Village.
Kanye's Car Featuring Bear Mascot
Kanye West will be sponsoring a car in the Formula BMW World Finals held November 24th-26th in Valencia, Spain. It's purrty, ain't it?
Kanye's Car Featuring Charity Logos
The car includes the logos for the Kanye West Foundation and the United Nations World Food Program. It's a good look all around.
2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited - "Bigger Deffer"
Jalopnik brings the above commercial to YouTube along with this rather odd comment:
"A new commercial for the 2007 four-door Wrangler Unlimited, because African-Americans love the Wrangler -- but only if it's "bigger" and "deffer" -- as this new ad surely shows."
Apparently some people haven't caught up with the fact that hip hop reaches all sorts of folks and that not all African-Americans can be reached with hip hop, duh.
You may recall Jeep's earlier bobblehead commercials that featured the sample used in KRS-One's Steady Bounce. Now can you spot what looks like a young KRS-One in this ad?
The *ecko unltd. Nissan Pathfinder
At today's MAGIC apparel trade show Marc Ecko and Nissan announced a promotional partnership featuring two Nissan vehicles custom designed by Ecko and a related website in a collaboration "tagged SHIFT_unltd."
The Cut & Sew Nissan Armada
From the release:
Mr. Ecko will also create limited edition, co-branded hooded jackets, woven button-downs, t-shirts, leather key chains and other items that will be given away at events and sold online through http://www.nissan.eckounltd.com/. Proceeds from these sales will benefit Sweat Equity Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that empowers young people to learn professional design and technology skills while working behind the scenes in leading design companies. . .
Following the announcement at MAGIC, there will also be three in-market events in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. In addition to unveiling the customized Nissan vehicles at the New York event, each invite-only affair will feature a Nissan and Marc Ecko fashion show and provide consumers with an urban, red carpet experience.
Seems like a smart move for Nissan that should result in decent press coverage.
And Ecko has certainly shown via the wide range of promotional activities for his videogame, Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, that he and his people know how to do interesting, fun events.
It's also a smart idea on Ecko's part to name each of the unique vehicles in relationship to his own *ecko_unltd. and Cut & Sew brands.
As the SHIFT_unltd. splash page currently attributes to Marc Ecko:
It's not a mash-up. It's a double-label, Nissan and Marc Ecko. That's the direction we took, like what you'd see in sneaker culture but elevated to the automobile. It's cooler than what other automakers might do.
Ecko on Branding:
Here's a brief 2005 interview with Marc Ecko in which he responds to the question, "What's the next big thing?"
Convergence. Blurring lines. Brands existing dynamically in real time in multiple places. And being more purposeful and meaningful than just being a commodity. . . In order for a brand to exist and survive and be relevant you must exist in multiple space. It doesn't mean that you still don't have to have a core competency. You have to really truly be a lifestyle brand. You have to exist in our culture on all levels. Music, movies, video games, cellphones, clothing.
Though no one at ProHipHop would attempt to explain the obviously illusory discrepancy between the claims of KRS-One, aka The Teacha, that "when you sell your lyrics, you're selling your soul, literally" and the use of the song Steady Bounce in a series of bobbleheaded Jeep Compass commercials that air beginning July 31st, we're assuming that he did not mean lyrical fragments and, since he didn't mention related beats or samples, he's probably home free on this one.
If not, I'm sure he will soon be releasing a statement regarding the cheap trick played by the Chrysler Group who have created the wickedly false appearance of KRS-One selling his soul . . .
again,
and again,
and again,
and, yet again.
Unless, of course, it's possible that he no longer has a soul to sell.
Check the press release for extensive details of Chrysler's Jeep Compass steadily bouncing bobbleheads campaign.
Note:
I like this campaign ok, particularly the first of the four Jeep Compass commercials shown above with its rapidly ejected bobbleheads and what appears to be a bobblehead McDonald's employee. But I'd like it a lot better if they had a KRS-One bobblehead hanging from the rear view mirror.
I recently received a review copy of Sunday Driver, a film about the oldest black lowrider club in LA (Compton, that is), that was recently released on DVD and about which I've written previously (that post includes the movie trailer).
Mine looks like the above except with a much cooler paint job and add-ons. Plus it's from Lindberg not Craft House.
I have to say that the most fun part of the Sunday Driver promotion as a reviewer was the accompanying Pocket Hopper '63 Impala Lowrider toy. It looks great in the package but I really want to take it out and watch it hop. It comes with a battery so it's good to go. If my old hangout wasn't shut down for remodeling, we'd have been playing with it on the patio and enjoying the endless destruction of time.
I assume this was just sent to reviewers and press people and it did the job of catching my attention and making me smile when I saw it. The only other extra I've gotten that caught my attention in the same way was a cd from Northern Cali that was sent with two individually wrapped, flavored blunt wrappers. Again, it predisposed me to respond to the album amidst a mass of submissions.
The Santana
What fascinated me about Sunday Driver was discovering things like the differences between African-American lowriders and Latino lowriders, at least from the Majestics perspective. One of the big differences is the emphasis on car shows in the Latino community. An important part of the story line focuses on a car that Gangster, the president of the Majestiks, decides to rework for a car competition, apparently a first for the group that emphasizes street culture. Since the director filmed these guys over a course of years, the bonus footage includes a look at the really rough beginnings of what became an incredible showpiece called The Santana.
I was also drawn to tales of the early days, including the outlawing of lowriders in 1959. The best early days stories came from Doc Get Low, who started painting cars in 1958 and whose aesthetic and background emphasizes getting low rather than high. He points out that nowadays the emphasis with lifters is making the car hop but, back in the day, they emphasized dropping the car low. In fact, what he dug was literally dropping the car all the way to the ground so it would scrape as he drove. He also enjoyed dropping it so low that it wouldn't move while he burned rubber and created a great cloud of smoke.
Doc Get Low
Relating this account makes it sound a bit ridiculous but when you catch Doc Low telling the tale, you'll get an inexcapable sense of the pleasure he derived from such antics. There's a lot more where that come from in this well shot and edited documentary directed by Carol Strong.
On a related note, I have to say I'm rather surprised that the LA Times' 125th Anniversary Car Special doesn't have a feature on lowriders. They may be in the mix but lowriders are one of the most distinctive elements of LA car culture and I think they deserve a bit more attention.
Official site: Sunday Driver
Official site: Majestics Compton
Available from Amazon: Sunday Driver DVD
Previously, Lee Iacocca claimed to understand only half of Snoop Dogg's Yay inspired lingo when they were working on that Chrysler golf cart commercial (I'd forgotten that Chrysler made golf carts!). Turns out he's now claiming that he didn't understand anything Snoop said:
When I did those commercials for Chrysler last year, they gave me five million bucks, which I donated to the [diabetes] foundation. I spent 24 hours with Snoop Dogg and didn’t understand a word he said to me the whole time.
Wonder what they did for 24 hours? Could they have been gettin' their thizz face on?
I'm really surprised and somewhat impressed by the Greyhound hookup with the AND 1 Mixtape Tour. It's one of multiple Greyhound Unleashed promotions around the country including the VIBE Awards and Spring Break events.
Greyhound's focus is on a bus customized by Funkmaster Flex or various underlings that "features black leather seating, flat panel televisions, Xbox 360 gaming stations, a state-of-the-art sound system." But I guess the regular buses are still the norm. Anybody ride one lately? I haven't been on a Greyhound since the 80s and it might have been Trailways or Trailhound as we used to call them. I took 3 cross country trips, me and lots of other poor folks, and it was harsh. Greyways was the more appropriate title in my opinion.
But I like the Greyhound Unleashed site. There's stuff to download related to the AND 1 tour, i.e. basketball, though the photos and videos for AND 1 are still on the way since it's just kicking off today. But everything's up for earlier events so they're on top of the site.
I'm just glad they didn't try to turn it into a social network. Social networks on corporate sites could play out really quickly if it gets saturated. But I think a few will succeed if they offer something substantial.
Circuit City is one of the Unleashed Tour sponsors and it looks like Mountain Dew is an AND 1 Mixtape Tour sponsor who gets namechecked on here as well.
Official sites: Greyhound Unleashed ~ And 1 Mixtape Tour 2006
If you haven't seen the trailer for Sunday Driver, here it is:
From a Special Ops Media pr email:
Rock Star Games presents - SUNDAY DRIVER, a documentary film that chronicles the Majestics, California's oldest black lowrider car club originally founded in Compton, CA.
An upfront look at the guys behind the chrome, SUNDAY DRIVER is the story of the founding members of the club living the lowriding lifestyle, constantly under scrutiny by the cops.
In candid interviews recorded while hanging out with the club, the passions of a unique group of car enthusiasts are revealed as they strive to outlive their past, working together to realize their dream of building the ultimate customized lowrider.
Note the involvement of game company Rockstar Games. With music by Dr. Dre, Tupac, Jurassic 5 plus oldies like The Temptations and Booker T. & The MGs. Sunday Driver releases on June 13th.
I guess I haven't been looking at DVDs on Amazon for awhile because there's both a link to the trailer below the product cover (though that feature doesn't seem to be in wide use on other DVDs) and, in Product Details, a link to the Internet Movie Database. Unfortunately, there's no info at IMDb on Sunday Driver which seems kind of odd given the involvement of Palm Pictures and the fact that they've covered a number of other online bases.
While it's good to see the main trailer shown above on YouTube, the official site has a range of promotional materials from downloadable wallpapers to still photos to clips from the film. I think the downloads of wallpapers, screensavers and buddy icons are especially cool since they offer multiple ways for fans to customize their own computers and mobile devices, including the PlayStation Portable. The only thing I would suggest here is getting more of the clips from the film up on YouTube and other video sites. It's free publicity, yo!
Official site: Sunday Driver
Official site: Majestics Compton
The third installment of The Fast and The Furious movies is coming with The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift to be released June 16th. I mention that here because Bow Wow's in the movie though I don't know what that will mean for the soundtrack or his career (I'm a little concerned by the above photo, especially since I hear Bow Wow's trying to get all macho these days).
Promotional tie-ins currently include LiveDigital's Online Showoff contest which allows tuners to post videos of their auto alterations. Official site: Online Showoff.
Toyo Tires' contest is called the Gettin' Sideways Sweepstakes and the Grand Prize is a "red Mitsubishi Evo 9 styled after one of the cars featured in the film." Official site: Gettin' Sideways Sweepstakes.
Both contests seem like reasonable tie-ins to Tokyo Drift and, though I'd rather win the Gettin' Sideways Sweepstakes, I'm more likely to check out and follow with interest entries in the Online Showoff contest.
Scion consistently does some of the more interesting promotions involving hip hop. Scion: Installation 3, featuring graffiti artists "painting on 3' long polyurethane sculptures of the Scion tC designed by Wheaty Wheat Studios", opened in New York this week and will later go on tour to all sorts of other places.
Blogs like Slam X Hype and Cool Hunting are showing love and sharing pictures.
Ice Cube will perform two singles off his upcoming solo album at AutoRox, an auto awards show to be televised on Spike TV. Cube will perform Chrome and Paint and Why We Thugs, two singles from Laugh Now, Cry Later which is slated for release on June 6, 2006.
The show itself will be taped in Las Vegas and air Tuesday, April 18th on Spike TV and will include such awards categories as Best Luxury Car, Hottest Exotic, Convertible, Sports Car and SUV. Nominees to be announced.
For more: AutoRox
The recent release of the American Brandstand report from Agenda Inc. received widespread attention in such venues as CNNMoney.com for its annual analysis of which brands got name checked the most in the top 20. Mercedes-Benz took top "honors".
Other newsbits via Agenda Inc.:
310 Motoring - the car customization business behind The Game's new sneak.
As iPods became automobiles, Toyota releases a "car-shaped music player".
Straight Outta Compton - the acoustic version?
A couple of weeks ago Baller Status ran an excellent interview with Scion's Sales and Promotions Manager Jeri Yoshizu focused on Scion's hip hop related marketing efforts that run the gamut from artist competitions to sponsorships to mixtapes.
Unfortunately, I'm kind of fading or I'd dig deeper, but it's a great interview and Yoshizu gives a rich account of what Scion's up to with hip hop marketing. He gets into a lot of stuff that's been absent from the articles I've seen responding to Scion's initiatives, from why they got into hip hop to the fact that the artists with which they've worked have expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the events Scion puts together.
Why hip hop?
We decided that if we were going to be addressing music, hip-hop was the thread that had the most diverse breakout. We learned that not because we got a report telling us that, but we were attending events that were hip-hop related. Like the DUB car show, we would go there and it was 70% Hispanic, they had a hip-hop lineup, etc.
On pleasing artists:
I know Grandmaster Flash can be jaded, because he gets corporate gigs, and he's played for half-empty rooms to a bunch of people who don't even know who he is. . . By him telling me that he would lower his price to play our shows, that's kind of a compliment. He can charge whatever he wants, because of his kind of level of demand. He said that he can't believe how great the kids were, and I think that can be a compliment that we're delivering the right show to the right people.
Check it out. There's a lot more great stuff with much more context in the interview itself.
Scion recently announced the winner of the NextUp Emcee competition, Kansas City's Reach, who is described as "old school" and "blue collar" and who won "$5000 in cash, the opportunity to perform at Scion events, and a fully produced music video."
You may recall that the NextUp competition was the center of some controversy when Bavu Blakes was eliminated for his lyrical content. However, that issue shouldn't detract from the victory of Reach whose winning track, Comin' For You, can currently be heard at the NextUp website.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Video From Reach: Scion NextUp Emcee '06 Winner
I've been meaning to write about all the different ways that Chrysler has found to market itself through hip hop. Via various branches of DaimlerChrysler, the company has gone beyond simple celebrity endorsements. It's one of those things that I sometimes put off till I have some time to think about it and then never get around to writing so here are a number of press releases from Hip Hop Press and posts from ProHipHop that demonstrate the range of their presence in the world of hip hop.
Dodge Charger Gets Hip Hop's Attention
Charger sedans have been a big draw for hip hop artists who feature them in videos and provide a form of real life product placement by requesting the first of a new edition in voicemail messages, as did both Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, that can then be used for publicity.
Missy May Campaign for Jeep Commander
Chrysler not only got Missy Elliott to endorse the Jeep Commander and appear in commercials but they also got a Jeep product placement in a Missy Elliott video.
Quick Takes: Mad Mike
Last spring, Pimp My Ride's Mad Mike demo'd a custom Chrysler at a gathering of Intel Developers in San Francisco.
Marketing: Pimp Juice Auto Sale
Also last spring, a customized Pimp Juice promotional Jeep Wrangler was auctioned on Ebay to raise money for Nelly's Jes Us 4 Jackie Fund.
Chrysler Group and the Iacocca Foundation Partner to Fund Diabetes Research
Lee Iacocca and Snoop Dogg are 'Golf Buddies' in new Chrysler Group commercial.
BET Launches 2005 Fall Season With BET's ULTIMATE HUSTLER
One of the prizes is a 2006 Jeep Commander.
2005 MTV Video Music Awards
Jeep was one of the official sponsors.
Wilmer Valderrama to Host 'G-Phoria(R)' - the Mother of All Videogame Award Shows
Jeep sponsored this event that included the Black Eyed Peas.
SWIZZ BEATS AMONG THOSE TO BE HONORED BY NV MAGAZINE FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Ralph Gilles, "designer of the hot-selling--Chrysler 300 sedan dubbed the most influential American car of the 21st century (Innovation Award)," also received an award and DaimlerChrysler was one of the sponsors.
Chrysler Financial, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Suze Orman and Anheuser-Busch Come Together to Educate and Empower Young People
Chrysler Financial was one of the very visible sponsors of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's series of Financial Summits.
Chrysler Celebrates its 11th Annual 'Spirit in the Words' Poetry Program During the National Association of Black Journalists' 30th Anniversary
Not hip hop per se but the connections between spoken word and hip hop are extensive. I'm really most impressed that they've been sponsoring it for 11 year.
Taken as a whole, these efforts, that occurred over the course of less than a year, indicate how deeply Chrysler has gotten involved with hip hop in their marketing efforts as well as their community efforts that ultimately can't be separated from marketing. The thing is, this behavior is typical for corporations, it's just a trip to see the full package in operation in relationship to hip hop.
While Scion's NextUp Unsigned Emcee Search contest continues, a growing number of press outlets are spreading the word that they mistreated a contestant, the Texas rapper Bavu Blakes.
I first heard about the controversy at the popular marketing blog AdRants which described the situation:
The car company disqualified an emcee because of his politically charged lyrics about President Bush and the war. The track, entitled Black Gold, is an obvious reference to oil and the war. The rap artist, Bavu Blakes, was willing to alter his lyrics a bit so he could advance to the next round of the competition and potentially win a $50,000 marketing deal, but Inform Ventures, the marketing company handling the promotion for Scion, said he was disqualified because his lyrics were too political. In fairness to Scion, Bavu entered the "underground" category rather than the "political" category but many still believe Bavu was censored.
The lyrics in question are:
1. "Now Bush and bin Laden got so much they rotten"
2. "Texas home of the real death row"
3. "What'd we really go to Iraq fo?"
AdRants includes links to coverage at other blogs and websites. By Bavu's own minimalist account on his blog Texas Mi Dia, SOHH.com has the most accurate version of the tale.
HoustonPress has a similar version published after Bavu's post with this positive addition:
"Reached after the debacle, Blakes was surprisingly upbeat about the whole stink, and with good reason. He believes that the rap game is "90 percent marketing." He'd already received interview phone calls from The Source, among other top-tier media outlets, and "Black Gold" had become the top Texas rap song on Myspace.com, beating both Paul Wall and Mike Jones in plays. Blakes added that he's getting more publicity now than he would have if he'd made the finals and lost."
Plus, he doesn't have to be seen with a wack ass Scion.
While it's true that Bavu's lyrics do sort of violate certain of the contest rules in that they contain "disparaging remarks" about both Bush and bin Laden, that's really a weak interpretation, especially since Bavu was willing to alter the lyrics and it's not like Bush or bin Laden are people in any normal sense of the word.
Though I can't see this as censorship, it is indicative of the fact that corporations want hip hop's popularity without it's edgy content, which may help explain Scion's support for old school and relatively safe acts.
The underground vs. political category issue which some folks are fixating on is kind of weird. By most definitions, underground either means that an artist is unsigned or at least not well known or that an artist has values that contradict rap's obsession with bling and the like. Either way Bavu fits the description. As he says in his blog, he's not a political rapper, which makes sense. Political rappers rap about politics all the time but most good rappers mention politics some of the time, as did Bavu.
But the categorization issue is beside the point, he would have been disqualified no matter what category he was in, based on the interpretation of the rules.
You can check out Bavu's Myspace page with links to the Black Gold track and some other cool stuff too.
I've discussed Bavu's take on the usefulness of Myspace here at ProHipHop and I greatly enjoyed the shows of his I saw while living in Austin. He's a great performer and I expect great things from him in the future. He's definitely on my list of unsigned artists that I would sign if I had a label.
I almost missed another automotive rap article but, fortunately, Cal Ulmann the Hip Hop Libertarian tipped me to it.
Missy Elliott's starting to hype the new Jeep Commander (I guess saying new is redundant, nobody promotes old things, at least, not in hip hop). Missy's video for Lose Control features Chrysler's SUV and talks are also happening to expand her involvement with promoting the vehicle.
According to an anonymous source:
"Chrysler is working with Elliott to create 30 seconds of unique music that is going to be featured in the first launch spot for the Commander, which is to hit dealerships in September, and footage of her is expected to be integrated in the advertisement."
Apparently earlier promotions with Celine Dion didn't go over so well which doesn't surprise me but I find her totally disgusting so I'm really not a good judge of what her audience would think.
Although automotive endorsements and car collections tend to be associated with men, Dub prez and cofounder Myles Kovacs says that Missy's "car collection is better than a lot of guys." Missy Elliott has appeared on at least one past Dub cover and Kovacs customized the Jeep Commander that appears in her video.
The still-in-negotiations campaign comes at a time when SUV sales are slipping, especially for behemoths like the Jeep Commander which was the first to have three rows of seats. Such a campaign is perceived as an attempt to reach younger buyers as well as African American and Latino buyers. Hey, that's what they always say when hip hop is involved! Hmmm.
Motor City's Detroit News' Autos Insider provides decent coverage of the automotive industry. Recently they ran a couple of pieces on hip hop artists' involvement with auto marketing.
Although Chrysler has been focusing marketing for their new Charger sedan on the "Nascar crowd", they're also benefiting from requests from rappers to use Chargers in hip hop music videos and related promos for their music.
So far, Sean Paul had a Charger in the video for We Be Burnin, the Ying Yang Twins use one in a TV ad for their new album, both Twista and Mike Jones displayed their Chargers on MTV's Cribs and Mike Jones is also said to appear with his on the cover of the August issue of Dub. Apparently other rappers have also included the Charger in videos without explicit permission and even more are asking for Chargers for future videos.
This interest follows an earlier well publicized
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