- Product/Brand - Bupa
- Spot - Cancer Survivorship Programme
- Song Title - Holding On
- Composer - Stimson, Romer
- Publisher - One Less Travelled Music, Stimson Publishing
- Artist - Johnny Stimson
- Master Rights - Rocket Records
- Music Supervisor - Tin Drum
- Ad Agency - WCRS
- Creatives - Orlando Warner, Joe Miller
- Film Company - Another Film Company
- Film Director - Steve Reeves
- Post Production - Finish
- Air Date - 12/1/15
Two weeks at Number One slipping to Number Six in the third? That’s not a bad chart record for an unknown act with a track not yet publicly available.
We’re looking at the Top Ten most Shazamed Songs In A TV Ad listings – as published by online marketing magazine The Drum – where a 26 year old from Dallas, Texas named Johnny Stimson has been riding high since the beginning of January.
Stimson’s Holding On is the bittersweet ballad behind a poignant Bupa Cancer Survivorship Programme spot. And the fact that it has competed so well against other highly rotated and recognizable TV ad tunes is tribute to the talent of the singer songwriter who only three months ago signed an international management deal with Rocket Music, the London-based home of Elton John, Ed Sheeran and James Blunt.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, Stimson is no stranger to the small screen in the US, where his blue-eyed soul style has resonated with music programmers licensing tracks into cult dramas like Trophy Wife, The Vampire Diaries and Rogue.
But, says Rocket’s Todd Interland, this Bupa spot should prove “a real milestone in Johnny’s career.”
Bupa may be one of Britain’s best established private healthcare companies but, in what is a fiercely contested sector, it seeks to highlight expertise which goes beyond merely paying the bill.
For this campaign, which was first sketched out in April 2014, music supervisors Tin Drum were commissioned by advertising agency WCRS to search for songs exploring themes of ‘support' and ‘care'.
“The brief was essentially to find something that was poignant, underscoring the emotional weight of the story, but at the same time positive, to reflect the optimism running through the film,” says Tin Drum Creative Director Adam Bushell.
“It was also important that the track be a contemporary song by a new artist.”
Tin Drum stumbled on Stimson through its long-standing relationship with LA-based independent sync agency Secret Road. Although Holding On came late to the party, it immediately became a firm favourite with the client.
It was released as a single by Rocket Records on February 8. The next couple of weeks will tell whether its success at Shazam will translate into sales.
