In a quick game of word association, let’s say I throw out the word “rock.” While a few people will get geological in response, the rest will jump towards music: “and roll,” they’ll say. Or maybe “Mick Jagger,” “Jack Black.”
No one will say “baby human,” but that’s the image DLV BBDO chose to promote the ultimate rock publication, Rolling Stone Magazine. In the 30-second spot, a black and white pencil animation morphs between images of rock n’ roll and infantile behavior. “You came into the world with a scream,” the gruff voiceover says. “You didn’t feel guilty when you defaced the walls of your house…You were a star, and everyone worshipped you. What has happened to you?” Zoom out to a man staring blankly at his computer screen in a uniform cubicle.
It’s an unexpected angle, which makes it all the more rock-worthy. Screw images of Pink Floyd or some youth shaking his hips onstage; let’s appreciate rock for the feelings it’s inspired from birth. Rock has always encouraged giving in to instinct and indulging uncontrollable, selfish desire. It may be a weird concept (“Be a baby; rock on!”), but DLV BBDO’s daring creative choices (hello, mother’s milk) make immaturity look like the best form of development. Imagine chilling in your crib, reading the latest Bob Dylan interview, free of responsibility.