Hilton Hotels: LEISURE

A new summer campaign for Hilton Hotels offers further proof of the symbiotic relationship between advertising and popular music. The four national television spots, out of San Francisco agency Draft FCB, promote summer specials on hotel stays—and they might also provide just the sort of career boost that singer/songwriter Donavon Frankenreiter has been waiting for.
Los Angeles hybrid music company DeepMix acted as the matchmaker that brought Hilton and Frankenreiter together. The company was approached by Draft FCB for help in finding the perfect songs to support the spots’ visuals: artfully crafted black & white photos of families engaged in fun, summertime activities. As luck would have it, Dave Curtin, the company’s co-founder and executive music producer/supervisor, had also just received a demo of a song called Life, Love & Laughter from Frankenreiter’s upcoming release on Lost Highway Records.
“I listened to it and loved it, and knew it was a perfect fit for the agency’s storyboards,” Curtin said. “I gave the agency the track and it was a bull’s eye.” Life, Love & Laughter is featured in a spot titled Leisure. A second Frankenreiter track appears in other spots.
It’s not surprising that Frankenreiter’s music should prove to be such a good match for Hilton’s summertime theme. In addition to his budding musical career, Frankenreiter is a champion surfer and his music fairly glistens with a sunny, good-time feel. It’s a Beach Boys worldview given a contemporary flair. “The songs are relaxed, sunny, optimistic. They’re about sharing and enjoying life,” says Kim Buie, vice president of A&R at Lost Highway Records, which has put out records by such artists as Lyle Lovett, Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson. “It’s a great fit with Hilton’s lifestyle campaign.”
It also came at the perfect time for Frankenreiter as the release of the spots coincides with the release of the single version of Life, Love & Laughter and the singer’s third album, Pass It Around. Having put out a couple of previous albums and attracted a small, but dedicated cult following, the singer is hoping the added exposure provided by the commercials will help him make the leap to mainstream success.
The relationship could also pay dividends for Hilton as a hot music track can not only boost interest in the ads; it opens possibilities for extended marketing efforts. Frankenreiter has already recorded acoustic versions of the songs for Hilton’s website.
“It could also lead to special concerts, exclusive songs for Hilton—things that are mutually beneficial to both parties,” said Curtin. “It’s an opportunity for Hilton to connect with an artist who has the potential to break wide open. The upside for Donavon is that it gives him national exposure and could create excitement for his music.”