EMA Rewrites Iconic ’80s DEVO Tune to Bring New Southwire Product to Life
09.04.2012
CHARLOTTE, NC — On the surface, a 1980s Punk/New Wave band from Ohio and a wire and cable manufacturer in Georgia might not have a lot in common. But DEVO and Southwire Company have come together on a remake of an iconic song that encourages electrical contractors to ‘Rip It.’
The collaboration has resulted in a new video that promotes Southwire’s new product the SIMpull Rip CHIP™ disc, an amazingly simple breakthrough that can save time, while eliminating the need to use a knife to remove the stretch wrap placed around wire reels to keep them clean, dry and secure during shipping.
Eric Mower + Associates rewrote the lyrics to the song Whip It and made it Rip It. Client Southwire lined up original DEVO band members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale to record Rip It in Los Angeles earlier this year. A number of electrical contractors have starring roles in the music video, singing the song and doing a DEVO-inspired dance in DEVO-style hard hats—while at the same time demonstrating how to use the Rip CHIP disc.
DEVO exploded on the music scene when MTV gave Whip It significant airplay during the cable network’s early days. While the song only reached number 14 on the Billboard charts, its role in the changing musical scene of the times is reflected in the fact that VH1 named Whip It as one of the top 100 songs of the 1980s. The song appeared on “Freedom of Choice,” the group’s second and best-selling album, which reached platinum status.
About Eric Mower + Associates
EMA is an integrated marketing communications agency with specialized expertise in business-to-business marketing, public relations and public affairs, consumer advertising, shopper marketing and digital/direct/relationship marketing. With offices in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany, N.Y.; Cincinnati; Charlotte, N.C.; and Atlanta, EMA serves clients throughout the United States. EMA also serves many of its clients through thenetworkone, the world’s largest independent network of advertising, creative, digital, media and marketing agencies covering 65 countries. EMA belongs to the American Association of Advertising Agencies and IPREX, a worldwide partnership of independent public relations firms. Named #5 on Advertising Age’s Best Places to Work 2012 list, EMA has 250 professionals and $236 million in capitalized billings for 2012. Visit www.mower.com for more information.
Eric Mower + Associates
Phone: (315) 413-4258
dgerhart at mower dot com