Einstein is such a genius- he can even play Lady Gaga! In a new spot for the Super Bowl, National Geographic is promoting it’s upcoming scripted series “Genius.”
The 45-second Super Bowl spot shows actor Geoffrey Rush as Einstein, playing a violin. When the music begins, it has a classical sound until gradually it’s obvious that he is Lady Gaga’s hit single “Bad Romance.” The piece ends in classic Einstein-style, with him sticking out his tongue.
“We’re reintroducing this brand as a premium destination,” Monroe told Variety. “With our very first ever scripted series, the idea that we’re unveiling that to the world at the Super Bowl is an extraordinary opportunity, just in terms of number of eyeballs as well as buzz that could potentially surround it.”
The ad, which will air immediately following Lady Gaga’s halftime show, is by McCann New York and was directed by Smuggler‘s Ivan Zacharias.
“We wanted to create a beautiful commercial that was true to the character of Albert Einstein,” said Eric Silver, McCann North America chief creative officer in a statement. “We knew Einstein frequently played violin as a brainstorming technique. The timing of our placement immediately after Lady Gaga’s halftime performance felt like serendipity, giving us the perfect platform to bring the adored physicist to life in a memorable way.”
“Genius,” from executive producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, premiers in the U.S. on April 25. The series stars Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean) as Einstein and Emily Watson (Theory of Everything) as Elsa Einstein.
Credits:
Agency
McCann New York
Eric Silver
North American Chief Creative Officer
Tom Murphy
Co-chief Creative Officer
Johan Leandersson
Senior Art Director
Nathy Aviram
Chief Production Officer
Danielle Korn
Director, Broadcast Producer
Eric Johnson
Executive Music Producer
Rob Rawley
Global Account Director
Jennifer Prieto
Account Director
Steven Marchione
Senior Project Manager
Patrick Glaser
Account Executive
Sarah McCollom
Assistant Account Executive
Client
National Geographic
Courteney Monroe
CEO, National Geographic Global Networks
Jill Cress
Chief Marketing Officer
Chris Spencer
Creative Director
Andy Baker
Senior Vice President, Global Creative Director
Chris Albert
Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Talent Relations
Carolyn Bernstein
Executive Vice President; Head of Global Scripted Development and Production
Dennis Camlek
Executive Vice President, Strategy and Consumer Marketing
Production Company
SMUGGLER
Ivan Zachariáš
Director
Patrick Milling Smith
Partner
Brian Carmody
Partner
Allison Kunzman
Executive Producer
Andrew Colón
Head of Production
Nick Landon
Producer
Music Arrangement/Performer – Oli Langford
Music Supervision – JSM
Editorial Company
ROBOTA
Filip Malásek
Editor
Postproduction
UPP
Sound
SOUNDSQUARE
