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Why Wiz Khalifa, Inspired by His Son, Recorded a Song for Oreo
The Martin Agency launches 'Stay Playful'
There were plenty of collaborations on the Grammy Awards this year, but one of the more delightful pairings came during a commercial break—with Wiz Khalifa and his 5-year-old son Sebastian starring in a 30-second Oreo ad launching the new brand platform “Stay Playful.”
Fans of Khalifa weren’t too surprised. The rapper talks about his son often, and posts about him pretty regularly on social media—including a wonderful photo on Sebastian’s first day of kindergarten last fall.
Lots of celebs keep their kids away from the spotlight, but Khalifa and Oreo both felt the father-son relationship was the right way to launch “Stay Playful.” Indeed, Khalifa wrote a new single for the campaign—an excerpt from which played in the Grammys commercial.
Check out the extended version of the spot here:
In a bit a tech wizardry, Oreo released the single on a miniature record player called the Wiz Khalifa Limited-Edition Music Box. Instead of vinyl records, the music box “plays” Oreo cookies—you put a cookie on the mini turntable, slide the record arm into place and a song plays.
Oreo came up with the music box idea last year, and sold out a limited run of them. The Wiz Khalifa version is an updated design spearheaded by Martin associate creative director Rique Santiago. Users can play the cookie side of an Oreo to hear the Khalifa track, or twist the cookie open and play the creme side to hear an instrumental of the track that they could rap along to.
Below, check out a behind-the-scenes video showing a bit about the music box’s development. The video also happens to play the entire Khalifa “Stay Playful” track.
“People everywhere have enjoyed witnessing Wiz’s grounded parenting approach and his fun-loving relationship with his son via their social channels, and it inspired us as well,” a rep for The Martin Agency tells Muse.
The “Stay Playful” positioning itself “comes from a product truth,” the rep adds. “When you twist open an Oreo cookie, it sparks the playful spirit inside. And that helps us connect with one another. ‘Stay Playful’ is a reminder that, even when the seriousness of adulthood looms large, we can always tap into that playful spirit together and find joy.”
CREDITS
Client: Oreo
Senior Director, Oreo Brand Equity: Justin Parnell
Associate Director, Oreo Brand Equity: Julia Nathan
Senior Brand Manager, Oreo Brand Equity: Madeline Vincent
Senior Brand Manager, Oreo Brand Equity: Mariama Boamah
Agency: The Martin Agency
Chief Executive Officer: Kristen Cavallo
Chief Creative Officer: Karen Costello
Creative Director: David Muhlenfeld
Associate Creative Directors: Devin Heatley, Brittany Tooker, Rique Santiago
Executive Producer: Brett Alexander
Content Producer: Maggie Weishaar
Junior Content Producer: Arielle Blais
Business Affairs: Emily Goodman / Alice Isner
Group Account Director: Britta Dougherty
Account Director: Gillian Merrill
Head of Integrated Production: Tasha Dean
Production
Production Company: Radical Media
Director: Dave Meyers:
Director of Photography: Scott Cunningham
Executive Producer: Jim Bouvet
Line Producer: Steve Fredriksz
Editorial
Editorial Company: Mondial
Editor: Nick Wurz
Assistant Editor: Layne Maloney
Editorial Producer: Ash Bruce
Finishing
Finishing : RWS Post
Senior Flame Artist : Chris Hagen
Assoc Flame Artist : Paul Wiederholt
Senior Producer : Katherine Leatherwood Brakman
Colorist : Stefan Sonnenfeld / Company 3
Color Producer: : Gabriel Wakeman / Company 3
Remote Color Facility: : RWS Post
Sound
Audio Post Facility: Rainmaker
Producer: Clinton Spell
Sound Designer and Mixer: Jeff McManus
Music
Original Music Arrangement: Tiny Lion
Composition: English Major
Vocals: Wiz Khalifa, Atlantic Records
