Cool Jazz for a Relaxed Roger Federer
A relaxed Roger Federer can be seen in the Credit Suisse promotional ad “Helping Roger Federer Relax Since 1981.“ The music used in the ad is just as relaxed. The cool, calm jazz soundtrack was composed and produced by David Arch and Mark Campbell especially for the ad campaign. Its title: “Roger Says Relax.“ The song can be downloaded for free from the Credit Suisse website.
The message of the international image campaign by Credit Suisse is clear: Thanks to Credit Suisse, Swiss tennis star Roger Federer can lead a relaxed life. For the UK-based Advertising agency EURO RSCG London, which was responsible for the campaign concept, the challenge was therefore to create a mood of total relaxation. A key factor in achieving that was the right soundtrack. “It had to be calm, but at the same time it had to arouse the audience's curiosity,“ says Gerry Moira, Chairman and Director of Creativity of EURO RSCG London.
Famous NamesTo write the perfect soundtrack for the ad, Moira commissioned London-based One More Music Company, which specializes in producing music for cinema, television, and advertising. Its owners, Mark Campbell and David Arch, are famous names on the international music scene: Arch played piano on the soundtracks for “The King's Speech“ and “The Queen,“ while Campbell is a producer of albums for various jazz greats such as Horace Parlan and Charlie Rowse. “Silent ads usually feature piano music,“ says Campbell. “But we wanted to achieve the effect of relaxation in a way you wouldn't necessarily expect. That's when we hit upon the idea of a jazz soundtrack.“
Performed LiveThe music was recorded live at the Angel Studios in central London in mid-April 2011. Live means that the musicians performed together, rather than recording their parts individually and the producer then compiling the various tracks. “That way, the artists can react better to their colleagues' performance,“ says Arch. “So the end result is usually more harmonious.“
Stars on BoardAround a dozen high-caliber musicians were hired for the recordings. Arch singles out trumpeter Guy Barker and drummer Clark Tracey for special mention.“Both are extraordinary musicians who have an excellent reputation on the jazz scene.“ In the 1990s, Barker played with Frank Sinatra and Sting, among other greats, while Tracey was crowned best drummer in the British Jazz Awards on three occasions throughout his career. That these stars of contemporary jazz worked together on the Federer ad is partly related to the fact that Campbell has worked with them on a regular basis for years and has produced a number of their albums. “During this time a friendship has developed out of the professional relationship,“ he says. “It was a great honor to have Barker and Tracey in the studio,“ adds David Arch.