It, at least for the past week, has reigned as the number one song in America. And, as of Wednesday, it is now the sound of a global brand.<\/p>\n
Lorde’s “Royals,” which reached number one on last week’s Billboard Hot 100, serves as the aural backdrop of a new, global Samsung spot promoting its Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear devices.<\/p>\n
Called “The Developer,” the cinematic commercial chronicles the dealings of a mysterious, well-dressed individual who is using his Samsung devices while overseeing a development project taking in a modest Barcelona neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Curious about the mysterious man’s plans, a group of children, none of whom have royalty in their blood, snoop on his dealings while singing a poignant version of Lorde’s ubiquitous smash.<\/p>\n
As they move about the streets, they stumble upon a beautiful reality: the man, footballer Lionel Messi, was not building a project for his own vanity but one for the benefit of the community.<\/p>\n
That unveiling of that project–a soccer field–transforms the children’s emotions from concern to joy as they embrace the development that Samsung’s technology helped facilitate.<\/p>\n
According to Billboard, the spot was conceived by ad agency Leo Burnett. Its music supervisor Gabe Burnett, who decided to go with the contemporary smash over a classic musical theater number, brokered the deal with Universal Music Group and Sony\/ATV. Music veteran George Drakoulis oversaw the audio mixing.<\/p>\n
Posted to Samsung’s YouTube page, the ad follows:<\/p>\n