Tag Archives: Bob Marley

David Mesfin: A Look at his Role in Hyundai TV Ad w/ Bob Marley’s Song

May 16, 2013 Tadias Magazine

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Thursday, May 16th, 2013

New York (TADIAS) – David Mesfin may no longer have the dreadlocks that he used to sport when he was in college, but he still has a cat named Kaya, and Bob Marley is his favorite musician. “I grew up listening to Bob,” he shared in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. David is also the Associate Creative Director behind a new Hyundai TV ad featuring the remix of the reggae legend’s popular song Three Little Birds produced by Stephen Marley and Jason Bentley.

“It was an honor to work on the spot with Bob’s music,” David said.

Hyundai’s television commercials (see videos below), which will begin airing in various U.S. markets this month, highlight “Assurance Connected Care” to the car manufacturer’s customers. The TV ads are designed to enhance confidence and the feeling of security among the brand’s drivers with proactive protection and services provided by the company’s Blue Link telematics platform.

“My copywriter partner Nick Flora and I wrote and produced four spots featuring the Marley track,” David said. “The idea we came up with uses ordinary street signs that communicate assurance and safety to new Hyundai owners, letting them know that everything is going to be all right, hence the music track from Bob Marley.”

“It’s amazing how much work goes in to a 30 or 60 seconds spot,” David said, speaking about his role in the project, which started months ago with concept development, presentation to client, producing and editing the final product along with the director, producers, music editors, editorial house and CG companies. “Overall what you are left with is the knowledge you have accumulated through the process, not to mention, the wonderful people along the way,” he added.

David also engineered the high-profile “Hyundai Epic Playdate” Super Bowl advertisement that aired nationally in February 2013. “That was a herculean task given the difficulty and amount of work that needed to be produced in a short amount of time,” he said. “But overall my team and I are truly happy with the end result.”

“How does it feel to see your work being shown during Super Bowl?” we asked. After all, it is the most watched television event of the year in the United States.

“By far it’s the most humbling experience,” he answered. “I watched it at home with my 8 year old son and wife.” David added: “The one minute Epic Playdate Spot played right before the kick off. The commercial featured the band, The Flaming Lips. They performed their original song written for the commercial called, ‘Sun Blows Up Today’ while a family had the most epic day ever.”

David’s career in advertising began in 1986 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was born and raised. “I know it sounds like a long time ago but I was only 12 years old at the time,” he said. “I used to spend a lot of time at a firm called Neon Addis — a design and advertising office. There I was exposed to many forms of visual communications, print ads, billboards, neon signs and more.”

Later, after he moved to the U.S. and commenced college in the 90s, David said he knew exactly what he wanted to do in life. He graduated with a BFA degree in Visual Communication from California State University, Long Beach. “I have been enjoying this wonderful field for quite some time now,” he said. “Thus far I have worked with multiple agencies and clients such as Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, Isuzu, Farmers Insurance, Neutrogena, Network Associates, La-Z-Boy, Mandalay Bay, Walt Disney, Sony, Coldwell Banker, LA Phil, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Adidas, Oakley and MOCA.”

What guides David’s art in terms of creativity? “Have a compelling message and idea that can solve the problem in a unique and interesting way,” he said.

As to those who want to follow in his footsteps? “Be patient and have an open mind,” David advised. “It’s a very competitive and subjective field, so proceed with caution. If you really want it, give it all, and give it your best.”

The remix Bob Marley track is available to download for free on Youtube.com/hyundai.

Watch: Making of “Three Little Birds” Remix Hyundai AD (Hyundai USA)

Client: Hyundai Motor America
Agency: INNOCEAN USA
Product: Assurance Connected Care TV Spot

Executive Creative Director: Greg Braun
Creative Director: Max Godsil
Creative Director: Robert Pins
Associate Creative Director, Art: David Mesfin
Senior Copywriter: Nick Flora
VP, Director of Integrated Production: Jamil Bardowell
Producer: Curt O’Brien

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Philippe Andre
DP: Alex LaMarque
Editorial Company: Arcade Editorial
Editor: Paul Martinez
Editor: Christjan Jordan
Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Music company: Stimmung
Animation/Graphics Co.: yU+CO
Telecine Place: CO3
With Whom: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Online Place: Airship Post
With Whom: Matt Lydecker

Watch: 2013 Super Bowl Hyundai Santa Fe Big Game Ad “Epic Playdate” (Hyundai USA)

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Featured, Reviews

Video: A New Film on Bob Marley Offers Rare Insight into a Legend’s Life

April 21, 2012 Tadias Magazine 8 Comments

Tadias Magazine
Art Talk

Updated: Monday, April 23, 2012

New York (TADIAS) – Few have popularized Ethiopia and the banner of green, yellow and red on the global stage as much as Bob Marley, and we are always happy to see the legend being celebrated. A new film entitled Marley, directed by Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald, is the first documentary approved by the music star’s family. According to Marley, the following day after his historic concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in September 1980, Bob Marley was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. He died eight months later at the age of 36. Marley’s funeral service was held on May 21st, 1981 at Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston, Jamaica and at The National Arena. It was officiated by the late Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro, the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere at the time.

“Three years earlier Marley had chosen to ignore the danger signs when a malignant melanoma was discovered in one of his toes,” writes NYT movie critic Stephen Holden. “He refused to have it treated — it probably would have meant an amputation — because he would no longer be able to dance onstage.” Holden added: “That stubbornness says a lot about Marley, whose obsessive drive seems only to have accelerated the more famous he became. He was so immersed in writing that he was said to sleep only four hours a night. Even when gravely ill he displayed a superhuman energy and willpower. Two of his children — David, aka Ziggy, now 43, and Cedella, now 44 — remember him as a disciplinarian who was hyper-competitive when they played games. All together he had 11 children from 7 relationships.”

The fascinating two-and-a-half-hour biographical documentary gives us insight into Marley’s entire life, featuring rare interviews with his family, friends, and others, including Bunny Wailer and Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Marley’s timeless songs are still used as anthems for global social movements. “His music has only grown in importance since his death,” noted The New York Times review. “His music and image proliferated at Arab Spring demonstrations.”

“You have only to listen to him or see a filmed performance to understand the potency of a voice synonymous with fervent hope.”

Bob Marley’s Music Used in Campaign to Help Famine Victims

August 11, 2011 Tadias Magazine 2 Comments

Tadias Magazine
News Update

Thursday, August 11, 2011

New York (Tadias) – A new social media campaign, which kicked off earlier this week, hopes to harness the power of celebrities and a Bob Marley song to help bring awareness to the unfolding famine in the Horn of Africa,” CNN reports.

The name for the campaign – “I’m Gonna Be Your Friend” – is borrowed from Marley’s 1973 song “High Tide Or Low Tide.”

According to CNN: “It uses the song as the soundtrack to a short film on the East African crisis directed by award-winning director Kevin MacDonald. Among MacDonald’s movies is the critically acclaimed “Last King of Scotland.”

The report says “prominent celebrities — such as Eminem, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears — have pledged to promote the film by posting it on their Facebook pages or offering links on their Twitter feeds.”

Ethiopian Business and Lifestyle