W+K Dial will.i.am for Three Collaboration

It's no secret that will.i.am is a lover of all things music and tech-related. Teaming up with Three's friendly purple mascot, Jackson, the pair sport futuristic cowboy-inspired attire while riding horses in time to will.i.am's new Superdope track.

Created by the brand's designated agency, Wieden+Kennedy, the minute-long spot promotes the launch of the musician's voice-activiated wearable dial, which is not too dissimilar from an iwatch - playing music, sending emails and featuring SMS, call and  navigational functions.

shots spoke to W+K's creative director Dave Day about the realisation of the spot and working with the legend that is will.i.am.

What was the brief that you were given from will.i.am?

will wanted us to do something “Superdope” to promote the dial. Three wanted us to do something that highlighted the collaboration between i.am+ and their network to bring their customers something amazing. The dial was the first result of this collaboration. As everyone now knows post launch, the dial is wearable technology that offers a greater degree of independence from other devices than the Apple Watch. AneedA, its voice-activated operating system, is really smart and intuitive.

How did you approach this brief?

Our first instinct was to make something that felt more like a music video than an ad, capitalising on will’s reputation. We also wanted to produce something that featured the product in an incidental but meaningful way. In the 60” TVC, it felt important to create the mood of the arrival of something really exciting rather than labour the logic of selling points. The rest of the campaign makes those points very clearly. The whole process was very collaborative. The campaign was something we very much arrived at together.

Three’s mascot, Jackson, is already a bit of a household name. What are the challenges of working with a puppet on set?

What puppet? You mean Jackson? He’s a consummate professional. It was his idea to use the horses. He loves riding and cowboy westerns, so he was in his element.  He does a have a significant rider which includes coconut water and endless bowls of purple Skittles.

How was working with will.i.am on the project?

It was fun working with someone who was the client, the person behind the product, the star of the ad and the composer all at once.

How important was it to combine music, tech and film into the spot and why?

Pretty important. It’s what will is all about.

It could be said that dial's biggest competitor is the Apple Watch. How did you ensure that the campaign held its own and avoided comparisons with the Apple giant?

Like all Three’s campaigns, hopefully this one makes a serious point without taking itself too seriously and appeals to its audience as a result. It’s also true that the dial has a clear point of difference from the Apple Watch in that it can be used independent of a phone. Design-wise it espouses a very different kind of cool from the Apple product, too.