Billboard

PHOTOGENIC: For two new TV spots in its acclaimed Frames campaign, Hewlett-Packard is stepping out on a musical limb. One spot, which broke Aug. 15, features an original song, "In the Frame," written and performed by unsigned artist Rob Laufer http://www.roblaufermusic.com. The other spot, which debuted two weeks later, uses an obscure jam from 1979, "Let Me Take Your Photo" by the Speedies.

            Both spots were conceived by Steve Simpson and Antonio Navas of the Goodby, Silverstein and Partners ad agency in San Francisco. The agency worked with the Los Angeles-based music design /  production house DeepMix, which produced and licensed, respectively, the Laufer and Speedies tracks.

            Fans of the Francois Vogel directed Frames campaign will recall that past ads spotlighted better-known photo-themed songs like "Picture Book" (the Kinks), "Pictures of You" (the Cure) and "Out of the Picture" (the Robins).

            When it was time to create the two new spots, DeepMix creative director Dave Curtin says G S & P had heard virtually every song ever recorded that included the words "picture" and "photo" in the lyrics. "That's when we came up with  a fresher idea: an original song and a little-known punk song from the late '70's," Curtin tells Billboard.

            With a full-length version of "In the Frame" now available at the iTunes Music Store, Deep Mix has high hopes for Laufer. who is recording an album.

            "The national exposure the song receives via the ad could very well result in a hit for Rob," Curtin says. Stay tuned