Music Blogs

When you think of the Grammy Awards, "snorefest" is a nice phrase which comes to mind. Consistently, The National Academy Of Recording Arts & Sciences puts on a lackluster show--year after year after year. Last year they achieved a ratings low. It's MTV's Music Awards that garner the most eyeballs and hype.

But this week the Academy threw down, launching the biggest advertising campaign in the organization's history for the 51st Grammy Awards on February 8. According to Evan Greene, the Academy's CMO, the campaign cost "in the mutli-millions" and is the most the organization has spent on an ad campaign in its history.

Developed by ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day, the campaign includes television, radio, out of home, print, and online. In the TV ads, portraits of singers such as Thom Yorke, Rihanna, and Stevie Wonder are drawn onscreen using titles of songs that were critical to their development. The artists are heard talking about importance of music.

Here's where it gets dicey. The Boo Radley-esque/shy/hermit Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke decided to put his mug on an ad. Did I see that correctly? And something as lame and commercialized as the Grammys, to boot?

There's more to it than meets the eye. The ad consists of names of songs which shaped his career and influenced him. These include: Bjork's "Unravel" (web-covered by Radiohead), David Bowie ("Ashes To Ashes"), and Liars ("The Wrong Coat For You Mt. Heart Attack"). Grammy uses Thom and Thom pimps out the Liars' song titles. Even though Radiohead predate the Liars by like a decade. Oh, and it helps that In Rainbows is up for Album Of The Year.

Print and online ads will sport different artists such as Lil' Wayne, Lenny Kravitz, Coldplay, and Kanye West. 

TV ads narrated by these highly influenced artists will start running soon, too. A commercial with Wonder's "Superstitious"--and lyrical references to R&B and soul artists as Ray Charles and Stephanie Mills--debuted over the weekend on CBS. Ad spots with Rihanna and Yorke are slated to roll out in the days leading up the telecast.

The Lil' Wayne ad comes with a disclaimer: "Artist not guaranteed to perform." It would be weird for an artist nominated for Album Of The Year--Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter III (also up for Record Of The Year) not to perform at the ceremony, which will be held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.