Without investing in paid media, this video achieved the business goals of the campaign. During the first day, the video was viewed 1.5 million times and over 200 global media publications covered the project, including USA Today, The New York Times and NBC’s TODAY show. In the first week alone, it garnered $17 million in earned media across 58 countries. Sony wanted the attention of Dylan fans, and got the attention of the world. As a result of this exposure, traffic to the Dylan website reached an all-time high, and consumer awareness of the box set greatly increased.

This video combines the global icon that is Bob Dylan with the cultural pastime of television viewing. The relationship between the familiar experience of flipping through TV channels and the interactivity of our platform allowed for a uniquely engaging approach.

The media team took the creative idea and created sixteen channels and over an hour of footage that would be combined to create this virtual television set. All of the footage streamed at once and allowed the viewer to “real-time switch” between channels. This experience lets the viewer feel that he or she is changing channels on a TV screen, only with a twist: no matter what channel you watch, the personalities on all sixteen archetypal channels are lip-syncing “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Sony planned to release a box set containing all of Bob Dylan’s recorded songs, and wanted Dylan fans worldwide to pay attention. 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.

Dylan’s status as a cultural icon led to an exploration of other cultural icons over the past decades, including the television. This video re-imagines the everyday experience of sitting back and flipping through TV channels, but in a twist of fate, all of the TV personalities are possessed by Dylan mouthing the lyrics to “Like A Rolling Stone.” This video was relevant to both the client and target audience because it held the attention of millions of Dylan fans, and raised awareness around the release of the box set.