Cannes Lions

Universal Love

McCANN NEW YORK, New York / MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL / 2018

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Overview

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Credits

Overview

Description

We created an album that reimagined classic wedding songs, flipping the pronouns to upend norms and challenge conventional notions of love songs, which have traditionally been written from a heterosexual point of view.

Partnering with artists to record new versions of classic love songs, we enlisted contributors who have been at the forefront of cultural revolution (Bob Dylan), contributors whose work has particular resonance with the LGBTQ community (Kesha), and contributors who identify as LGBTQ (Kele Okereke, St. Vincent). We deliberately spanned genres and generations.

The new soundtrack formed the center of a campaign that lived across digital, social and retail to create multiple touchpoints for people to experience the project and brand.

Execution

The album was recorded and then launched simultaneously on every major streaming platform (Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Pandora), generating buzz in local, national and international news.

We used our artists to spread the message in as many touchpoints as possible. They all (minus Dylan, who doesn’t use social media) posted it on their social channels at launch. Week 2 saw the release of a music video by Kesha, where she marries a lesbian couple at an MGM hotel in Vegas. It served as promotion for her song, but also a PR event in itself. In Week 3 we hit late-night, with Benjamin Gibbard performing “And I Love Him” on Conan. In Week 4, 10,000 vinyl records were sold in stores across the country for Record Store Day. Lastly, She and Him wrote the first original song inspired by the project and released it in two versions to celebrate universal love.

Outcome

Universal Love was the #9 pop album in the US on iTunes, momentarily rising above Beyonce’s Lemonade. It gained 2.35B earned media impressions in 59 countries in the first three weeks, with over 188MM impressions on social (under 1% of comments being negative). The artists generated 3.9MM video views across their channels. Numerous news outlets, podcasts, and radio shows around the world aired segments about the project.

Of those who were familiar with Universal Love:

93% saw MGM as “a brand worth paying attention to” (16% higher than those unfamiliar with the project) and 94% were more likely to consider an MGM resort on their next trip to Vegas (+12%).

Most importantly, 80% of LGBTQ respondents who were familiar with Universal Love saw MGM as supporting the community (40% higher than those who were not).

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