Rihanna Featured in Grammys New Ad Campaign

Lil Wayne, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder and Rihanna have signed on for a massive Recording Academy ad campaign. Television, print, online and radio spots will try to drum up some excitement for the organization’s annual Grammy awards, which suffered a decline in ratings last year. Ad spots with Rihanna and Yorke will roll out in the days leading up to the Feb. 8th telecast.

A Grammy spokeswoman says each artist was asked to give the Recording Academy 10-20 songs that influenced or affected their life and career. The lyrics and song titles are then featured in the print and television ads. One nicely odd effect is that the advertisements for the industry awards now feature a host of artists and songs that had not been recognized by the Grammys.

The print ads from Lil Wayne and Rihanna come with more popular nods. Lil Wayne’s ad pays tribute to Jay-Z’s “Can’t Knock the Hustle” and Young Buck’s “Pocket Full of Paper,” for instance. The most notable presence on the Rihanna ad is Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name.”

The ads were developed by TBWA\Chiat\Day, and are said to be part of the biggest campaign in the Recording Academy’s history, one that cost in the multimillions, according to Billboard. The promotion, dubbed “music makes us,” is coming one year after the Grammys suffered their lowest ratings since 1992. More recently, a prime-time Grammy special announcing this year’s nominations didn’t fare too well in the ratings, finishing in fourth place for its time slot.

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