In case you didn’t get your fill of mediocre hip-hop with last night’s Drake bomb (which came complete with a fatal shooting, a new Toronto Raptors jersey designed by Sid Lee, and an image of the former Degrassi star performing in front of memes and me-too brand tweets), then you’re in luck!
But don’t judge the latest campaign from Mother London by its association with the fakest rapper in the game.
Azalea wasn’t even directly involved, though she will get some royalties: American band Leisure Cruise (never heard of ’em either) teamed up with London/New York/L.A. sound company Finger Music to record a newer, jazzier version of her hit “Fancy.”
It’s in keeping with the swingin’ twenties theme of this spot for Tanqueray, which launched yesterday:
There’s no huge concept at work here beyond the idea that London bartenders and pseudo-flappers break out the green stuff when they really want to get down. We respect their seriousness: gin headaches are so much worse than cheap bourbon-flavored hangovers. And wow, does that stuff taste awful.
LBBOnline tells us that this campaign is unique in that the team devoted a larger than average amount of resources to securing and re-recording a song chosen because the campaign needed a recognizable tune. A music journalist once described the responsible band, Leisure Cruise, as such:
“Imagine the music of a John Hughes film if it had been written by Bowie, remixed by Johnny Jewel, and fronted by a female Prince, and you’ll start to get the idea.”
Not exactly what we had in mind as we watched this ad, but the resulting work is a bit more graceful than the real hip-hop version via Compton, California circa 1994:
“Later on that day/My homie Dr. Dre came through with a gang of Tanqueray/ and a fat ass jay of some bubonic chronic…
Tanqueray and chronic, yeah I’m fucked up now.”
That was pretty good, but it was hardly fancy.