When agencies release a new offering or technology, it usually comes with a press release and a short, dry writeup. Video agency Hayden5 took the launch of its Crew+ remote production service offering one big step further with a musical ad, “Crew+ The Musical,” complete with Broadway talent.
Crew+ is a service that brings local production teams around the world online for a more seamless production. In a nod to its New York roots and in celebration of the reopening of Broadway, Hayden5 introduced its Crew+ production process in musical form, featuring L. Steven Taylor, who plays Mufasa in Broadway’s The Lion King, as well as other Broadway stars from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
With Crew+, every time one of Hayden5’s crews deploys anywhere in the world, clients and stakeholders can view a high-resolution stream of their shoot from the main camera feed in real time. The company also innovated the virtual set experience to offer a wider view of the set and a crew cam to enable face-to-face conversations.
Those features are front and center in the musical promo. Hayden5 founders Todd Wiseman Jr. and Milos Silber, having recently invested in Medusa the Musical, hired creator Wes Braver to bring the Crew+ lyrics to life. Wiseman, a member of a fledgling Florida boy band in 2000, wrote the jingle and initial lyrics, which Braver then expanded on and produced into a full song. Braver also led the casting process, bringing on the various Broadway stars. The music was recorded at the Found Objects studio.
“We’re the first video agency with our own jingle and we thought, ‘What better way to introduce Crew+ than with our very own musical number?” Wiseman Jr. said in a statement. “We’ve always embraced very non-traditional methods when it comes to our own advertising, from fortune cookies to billboards in L.A. Because we productize services unlike any company in our space, we think our advertising should nod to products and services.”