August 15, 2011 — DDB Los Angeles announced today the launch of its new campaign for Deus Ex: Human Revolution™, the highly anticipated third installment in the acclaimed Deus Ex video game series from Square Enix developed by Eidos-Montreal. The cornerstone of the new campaign, two 30-second television spots featuring action-packed game footage, are scored by a unique piece of original, emotive music created especially for the campaign by Transmissions, a newly formed Southern California-based duo featuring Susanna Waiche, one of the vocalists for Dirty Projectors and Kenseth Thibideau from Pinback, among many other bands. The assignment from DDB not only represents Transmissions’ debut song, “My World” but also the formation of the band.
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“Today, in cooperation with artists, agencies are able to create and use music on behalf of brands in completely new ways,” said Eric Johnson (aka DJ Bunny Ears), executive producer of music & integration at DDB. “Increasingly, we have the opportunity to collaborate on projects that go far beyond traditional licensing deals, and this opens new doors for a different kind of creative and production process on all sides. The musical accompaniment for Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an exciting example of that kind of innovation, and a great illustration of working upstream in the creative process to create something truly unique.”
To find the right music for the campaign, DDB initially conducted a music search, but soon recognized a need to break from the usual process for this particular effort. Working with Beta Petrol, the agency inspired over a dozen indie artists to submit their original take on the journey of Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s main character, Adam Jensen. After selecting the Transmissions song, DDB licensed the chosen music, which the artists have released as a full-length track on iTunes.
Bryan Ray Turcotte, Music Supervisor at Beta Petrol commented, “DDB has been a great partner on this project, giving us the freedom to experiment and take risks with creative direction and the artists we chose to collaborate with.”
Sébastien Bisch, Marketing and Communication Director at Eidos-Montreal added, “For our TV campaign, we needed to find a song which was full of emotion and conveyed the energy of the game, while keeping in line with the game’s musical tone. We are incredibly excited to see that our creative collaboration with DDB, Beta Patrol and Transmissions resulted in the creation of such a great song, which brings the story of Deus Ex: Human Revolution to life in a profound way.”
Telling the story of Adam Jensen, a man cybernetically augmented against his will who finds himself in the middle of a global conspiracy to which he holds the key, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is set in a near-future world where humanity is at a turning point. By offering players the chance to play the game in vastly different variations, Deus Ex: Human Revolution challenges the foundations of gaming and provides an immersive experience where every choice has a lasting consequence.
The spot will air on networks such as Comedy Central, Spike and MTV2. The title song, “My World” has been released in its full form and is available on itunes along with additional tracks by Transmissions.
Credits for Deus Ex: Human Revolution TV
“It All Leads to Adam” :30
“The Truth Will Change You” :30
Agency: DDB LA
Writer: Miguel Caballero
Art Director: Jaclyn Yuan
Executive Producer: Vanessa MacAdam
Executive Creative Director: Matt Reinhard
Music Director: Eric Johnson (aka DJ Bunny Ears)
Music Supervisor: Beta Petrol, Bryan Ray Turcotte
Music: Transmissions
Post: Goldtooth Creative Agency, Vancouver
