Because Dylan fans have such a strong pre-existing relationship with his music, creating the first ever music video for one of the greatest rock songs of all time, “Like A Rolling Stone,” was the perfect attention-grabber. The challenge was envisioning a project that both stood on its own as a work of art, added depth to the already meaningful song, and promoted The Complete Album Collection Volume 1. The key objective was to create a video that both evoked classic American and Dylan culture, but also incorporated modern technology in a beautiful and creative way.

The initial brief for this project was extremely open: promote the release of Bob Dylan’s new box set, The Complete Album Collection Volume 1, by designing an experience that will grab the attention of Dylan fans worldwide. The experience had to be groundbreaking. It had to have depth and feel poetic, standing as a self-contained work of art. We decided that the experience would center on the first ever music video for Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”

The concept of the vintage television ultimately inspired the design. In this video, viewers have the opportunity to flip through sixteen channels on a virtual television, with actors and TV personalities lip-syncing the song’s lyrics on each program. There is nothing more classic than an old TV set, yet there is inherent irony in this medium living on the Internet. Dylan constantly explores cultural irony in his music, which further inspired a design both vintage and modern.

Reactions from press outlets ranged from Slate’s “fantastic” to Wired’s “masterpiece.” Gawker ran the headline: “Stop reading this sentence and just watch Bob Dylan’s incredible video.” Within the first week, the video garnered $17 million worth of earned media around the world and gained exposure in 58 countries. It was covered by 200 publications in the first day, including USA Today, The New York Times and NBC’s TODAY show. Consumers additionally showed their connection to the video by sharing it over 50,000 times on Twitter and Facebook.