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Harmon Kardon Celebrates The Pull Of Light And Sound

Havas is behind the audiobrand's latest work which tells a striking story celebrating 72 years of legacy

By Creative Salon

Harman Kardon, the iconic HARMAN International audio brand, has unveiled a new marketing campaign to support the upcoming global launch of its Aura Studio 5 speaker. 

The campaign, from creative agency Havas London, dramatises the new product’s unique immersive dual light and sound experience, relaying the message that music should be seen, as well as heard, while also re-establishing the 72-year-old pioneer as the market leader in marrying high quality audio with elegantly designed products. 

Sitting at its heart is a 60-second hero film directed by acclaimed music video director Dave Meyers. Playing on the analogy of moths drawn to light, it blends high-fidelity audio with striking visuals, resulting in a captivating and cinematic experience, which breaks away from traditional product adverts, and leans into the expressive, free and creative nature of music videos. 

The film follows a woman irresistibly drawn to the light and sound of the Aura Studio 5 speaker in her home. Her fascination sees her transformed into a human moth – developing moth wings and taking flight, as she dances in a hypnotic rhythm around the glowing speaker. As the music intensifies, another winged figure joins her. The final shot pulls back to reveal an apartment block alight with the glow of different colours from each apartment, and human moths dancing in the silhouette of both sound and light.

The film is part of a fully integrated creative platform spanning BVOD, connected TV, cinema, online, digital, out-of-home and social. Media was handled by Arena Media, with production by Radical Media.

John Livanos, Senior Vice President of Lifestyle Marketing at Harman International, said: "Harman Kardon has always stood for exceptional audio quality and elegant design. With this campaign, we’re reaffirming our position as a leader in premium sound and showcasing a new way to experience music – as the music experience should be seen as well as heard.’’

Mark Whelan, Chairman & UK Group Chief Creative Officer, Havas UK, added: "We set out to elevate the product design and sound into a full-blown visual experience. It’s a really simple creative construct amped up with promo energy by the incredible Dave Meyers. Excited to get it out into the world."

Credits

Project name: Harman Kardon – See / Hear 

John Livanos, Senior Vice President of Lifestyle Marketing, Harman International  

Domenic Sposato, Vice President of Insights & Strategy, Harman International 

Vanessa Mering, Global Marketing Director, Harman International 

Rishi Kumar, Global Marketing Strategy Manager, Harman International 

Creative agency: Havas London 

Chairman & UK Group CCO: Mark Whelan 

Creative Director: Ben Brazier  

Creative Director: Johnny Ruthven 

Copywriter: Alex Jones 

Art director: Emily Camacho 

Chief Client Officer, Global Brands: Tamara Greene 

Managing Partner: Hannah Liu-Sherman 

Account Director: Peter Churchward  

Account Director: Sara Haddock 

Head of Production: Louise Bonnar 

Agency Producer: Adam Henderson 

Assistant Agency Producer: Hilary-Nyce Aremu 

Creative producer: Hannah Levy  

Strategy Partner: Stephen Pirrie 

Strategy Director: Adam Hinson 

Chief Design Officer: Lorenzo Fruzza 

Executive Design Director: Josh Toogood 

Senior Designer: Luke Remon   

Media agency: Arena Media 

Production company: Radical Media 

Director: Dave Meyers 

Executive Producer: Jodie Brooks 

Producer: Kwok Yau 

Production Manager: Matt Cummins 

DoP: Scott Cunningham 

Edit House: Stitch 

Senior Producer: Maggie McDermott 

Editor: Charlie Von Rotberg 

Edit assistant:  Laura Reyes 

Stills Production: 

Photographer: Julia Fullerton-Batten  

Photography 1st Assistant: Elio Ruscetta 

Stills post production: Recomm Farmhouse 

 Post-production: Jamm 

Executive Producer: Louise Unwin  

Producer: Sam Ashby 

Creative Director: Ted Harrison 

VFX Supervisor: Alex Lovejoy 

Colourist: Jess Jinx 

Track Title: I Wanna Dance  

Artist: Disciples of Drum 

Publishers: Wake the Town  

Label: Wake the Town 

Composer: Frankie Teardrop 

Audio post-production Producer: Olivia Ray 

Sound Engineer: Sam Ashwell 

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