When was the last time a commercial gave you goosebumps? Halfway through this commercial I was stunned. The final light flickers on, you catch all of the bruises, the chitter and chatter and all the noise stops and as you're forced into this uncomfortable encounter then this warm and heartfelt song plays as she looks into your eyes. "Breath on me like beast".
Ya.
Ads are tough to nail and even tougher to be clever with sound design because usually it starts with the copy. It's all about the VO and everything else is second. In this case it's not. Sound was written into the script. You're sucked into the moment with the rain ambiance room tone and flickering of the lights, and the sound design of all the noise we've been hearing all day too (the same headlines about the virus). Then you focus the narrative by sucking the air out of the room with the radio dial and slowly hear the song, then it becomes non-diagetic and the text comes on screen. You cared before you even knew what was going on and sound had a lot to do with why.
We're huge fans of discussing scripts and pitches with clients while they're still in development, it can only elevate the project.
Check out the ad below and original song too.