How W+K and Amazon Prime Rocked a Queen Deep Cut for a New Generation
There has been a ton of research that points to how music can either make or break an ad. It's no secret that tracks can affect audiences' emotions, make spots memorable, and hopefully lead to sales. But there isn't much discussed about how creative storytelling can give a song new life and modern relevancy by introducing it to new audiences.
Storytime.
Amazon tapped W+K London to partner with Prime to build a cohesive identity for the membership’s fundamental values of savings, convenience and entertainment. The goal was to highlight the benefits of Prime—speed, free delivery, exclusive deals, music, movies, series, podcasts—and develop an emotional connection with customers. Together, we aligned on an approach to show how Prime is able to get you closer and deeper into your passions and interests. In March 2023, we launched "It's on Prime," with a hero film directed by Olivia Wilde and airing during the Academy Awards.
You might be asking yourself, "Why is this relevant a year later?" We'll get there. We promise.
The film, "Tache," tells the story of a teenage girl who ultimately embraces her facial hair. The spot follows an emotional rollercoaster as she comes to terms with her new image. Initially, she is dismayed, until she realizes that some of her cherished icons—especially Freddie Mercury—all have mustaches too. She struts into school with newfound confidence, channeling her inner Freddie, wearing a flamboyant yellow jacket purchased on Prime.
When we were coming up with this concept, we knew we had to find an amazing soundtrack with swagger, one that could land the key scene of our hero’s strut down the school hallway. Given Queen's epic catalog, it would make sense to go with a beloved track like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Are The Champions," "Radio Gaga" or even "I Want to Break Free." And we did consider some of those—but they felt too expected. Too predictable.
Instead, we set the story to the beat of a lesser-known tune: Queen’s 1982 deep cut "Cool Cat." Why? Well, we wanted something that was not only surprising and distinctive but also aligned with Prime's new positioning. A song that represented the depth of passions of real people like our hero.
Little did we know that this approach would not only lead to a successful ad but also introduce a song to a new generation and give "Cool Cat" an unexpected rebirth.
How did we do it, and what do we mean by rebirth, you ask? We listened to pretty much every song Queen recorded. When we came across "Cool Cat," it was one of those moments when it all clicked. The track had that laid-back confidence we were aiming for. The film's director agreed, as did the Amazon Prime team. Queen’s team was incredibly excited by the opportunity and supported the strong message of self-love and expression the ad promoted.
When the commercial launched, we were floored by the positive reactions and comments on social media—both for the ad and the song. On the heels of the spot's debut, "Cool Cat" gained sales and plays at a phenomenal rate, as streams of the song on Amazon Music increased 800 percent month-over-month from February to March 2023.
The song even entered the top 10 of Billboard’s Digital Rock chart for the first time. This led the band to re-release it as a single in 2024 on Record Store Day—noting that a big part of the decision was due to the success of Amazon's "Tache" film.
It's clear that creative content that makes a splash in pop culture and resonates with audiences can also lead to an unexpected affinity towards previously released music. We're seeing it across entertainment verticals such as TV (Stranger Things—"Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush) and movies (Salt Burn—"Murder on the Dance Floor" by Sophie Ellis Bextor and most recently, Anyone But You—"Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield).
And now, we're seeing it in advertising, too. Look for this trend to continue, with more forgotten and overlooked tracks making comebacks and helping build brands.
