Olivia’s world
The LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo campaign purposefully looks more like an Olivia Rodrigo feat. Sony production.
The campaign’s Petra Collins-directed ad flashes back to the house party from Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right” video. The product launch could be a second Guts album drop, with 3D video billboards in Times Square and Shinjuku, Tokyo, a Universal Music Group unboxing, freebies for Rodrigo fan groups, and ads across Hulu, YouTube, Spotify and Amazon’s Thursday Night Football,
There’s even a Tokyo experience for 200 fans designed to look like Rodrigo’s house from the ad and “Bad Idea Right” video. Those fans were led to believe they’d been invited to a Guts album launch party, but both Sony and Rodrigo had a little more in mind.
Sony’s Freed said Rodrigo was “literally hands-on every step of the way” and that the final result reflects her vision. Sony worked with Rodrigo’s creative team and director on the ad and her engineer on the preset equalizers in what both Freed and Wasserman considered the company’s deepest artist collaboration to date. However, Freed noted that the breadth of Sony’s work with Rodrigo was only possible as a result of trust the brand had already built with other artists.
Constructive collaboration
Since LinkBuds S launched, Sony brought in SZA, Tate McRae and Saucy Santana to show how they fit into each artist’s world. Since July, however, Sony has been using its “For the Music” platform—most recently featuring Miguel—to imply that any artist who uses Sony equipment to make their music has forged a connection with the brand.
Wasserman noted that the campaigns above have all served the same purpose as Rodrigo’s: Showing how to use a product in day-to-day life. The missing element, which permeates Rodrigo’s campaign, is a relevant tie to the artist: a different way to listen to their music that also serves as a gateway to other features that might interest them.