Washington State residents have a new enticement to buy a Lotto ticket, especially if they’re indie rock fans: Starting today, Washington’s Lottery will air an ad featuring a brand-new tune from Grizzly Bear. We here at the Music Mix love the Grizzly Bear almost as much as Jay-Z does, so we’re pleased to premiere the spot right here after the jump.
It’s a cool, trippy clip, no surprise given the level of talent involved. Ad agency Cole & Weber United hired auteur Patrick Daughters, who previously helmed Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” video, to direct. Michael Rooney, the man behind (500) Days of Summer‘s beloved Hall & Oates dance sequence, handled the choreography. And of course there’s that perfectly lovely new Grizzly Bear tune. “It was a sunny day/I was on my way,” Ed Droste sings over folky instrumentation as we see a young woman’s life instantly transformed by a lottery ticket. “Dreaming of something more/My thoughts began to soar…” Keyboards joyously join the arrangement, and one starts to think that this song could have fit comfortably on Yellow House or Veckatimest. If only it didn’t end after 60 seconds!
Between this and the Volkswagen “Two Weeks” spot that debuted during the Super Bowl, Grizzly Bear seem like the go-to band for advertisers seeking a hip soundtrack. Watch the new Washington’s Lottery ad after the jump and let us know what you think.
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
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Love it!
I could make love to this track! Love you Grizzly Bear!
Hmm… I was so excited by this in concept, but the reality is just “eh” for me. Like the song, love visuals, but the production on the track is so airy that the action seems too frenetic (like it was choreographed for another song).
Yeah I know what you mean, thats exactly what I thought when I saw the dancing i was like.. uhhh no one dances like that to this.
Nice! Love the track. How on earth did the WA lottery secure these guys? Nevertheless, great track, great spot, fun to watch.
Agreed! Sweet song, and eye-appealing video- I think the songs fits great for the theme
I’m originally from MN, and the state lottery there just started offering these tickets called “Cash & Concerts” where you can win free concert tickets and music downloads and such. Pretty rad! I’ve heard of lots of different state lotteries getting more involved with the music industry lately…
I love it! Awesome talent abounding. Beautifully shot commercial, awesome awesome new song. Can’t wait to hear a full version!! Love love all of it.
I want to jump into a cooler.
is it just me, or does it seem like she’s dancing a little too quick for the song?
Not really. She’s hitting her moves to the music, which is pretty jumpy (there are drums and some sort of harpsichord/accordion thing in the background). It’s just the vocals are a little more soft and ethereal so she looks way too excitable. But then, she’s supposed to have just won the lottery…
This is all kinds of great.
C’mon you picky people. This video is pretty cool and considering that its for a lotto ad makes it even more remarkable. The last ad I saw for my state’s lotto looked like it was produced/directed by Tommy Wiseau and starred carny folk.
This is pretty shameful of Grizzly Bear to endorse such a socially destructive practice that has exploited the poor for decades. This is the wrong way to gain a new audience. Shame on them!
i absolutely agree muldfeld. ive lost a little respect for them.
same here. same here… and Jay Z does not love Grizzly Bear, he just says that kind of stuff to get more popular.
“It’s not a new song, it’s a random sketch that was never finished. 1.5 years ago when we did the two weeks video we were real chummy with patrick daughters and he basically did our video for close to nothing and he was all “i’m doing a rad video with a really cool choreographer and I’d love to use something of yours, do you have anything” and us loving Patrick, we were all “sure! I guess you could use this song we never finished”. We thought it had already aired and nobody had noticed, but then we found out the PR company behind the ad campaign decided to release a giant press release about it saying we wrote it for them, which is false. I think the ad is really pretty and the dancing great. The whole thing was more of a let’s work with other creative people, rather than actually thinking of it as an ad, which is naive I know. So yeah the song doesn’t exist, it’s just a snippet. We didn’t write it for the ad, nor did we really profit much off of it. It was just us loving Patrick and helping him out on a project he did right after two weeks. I had completely forgotten about it until this past monday when they decided to surprise everyone with a mega press release. Shrug. I still think it’s visually really cool. ”
A quote from Ed from the grizzly bear bulletin board. All those “up in arms” need to calm down and chill the eff out
True. It’s not a noble cause… Like selling a Volkswagen.
I’m not so sure I’m 100% on board with all that.
I’m a huge fan of Grizzly Bear, but is he really trying to say that he didn’t know it was for an ad? I don’t buy that for a second. I don’t think that it being on an ad is all that bad either.
And was this really a pre-recorded song? Again, no buying it. Listen to the lyrics, they’re way too perfect for this spot. “Lucky day”, “I headed to the store”
there’s just no way they didn’t write this song for this ad.
I think Ed is just trying to cover his tracks because some of you guys are jumping on them like they’ve committed murder or something.
I just think that everyone needs to relax. The song is great, the ad is cool, and that’s that.
@ Muldfeld
Really? It’s more of a music video than anything else. And is the lottery really an exploitation? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to play the lottery very often, but it’s something that I go into willingly. It’s not like they’re slingin’ crack rocks.
Muldfield needs to chill out. Why no shame on Patrick Daughters or Michael Rooney?
I’m pissed at the female lead protagonist for jumping on board and all those dancers. EVERYONE IS EVIL!!!!
I Love it so much! It’s wonderful in it’s awesome little music box.. My new favorite song….
Not gonna lie. Half way through the commercial I forgot what the ad was for.
People from WA remeber what is being advertised. This is one of a list of ads asking whos life can you change? One of the other ads has a group of guys taking chickens, penguins and an emu for rides on hanggliders stating all birds should know what it is like to fly.