"Whatever you need, you can get that Black—that's facts!"
T-Pain and Normani weave righteous rhymes to boost Black-owned businesses in the run-up to Nov. 26, "Black Friday," when retailers traditionally offer deals to jump-start the gifting season.
The recording artists duet in a shoppable video that recasts the day as "Black-owned Friday," reminding shoppers to support African American enterprises struggling amid the pandemic. Google, the U.S. Black Chambers and creative agency BBH USA developed the initiative, now in it second year.
And here's the shoppable version.
Comedian Desi Banks, singer Tanerélle and dozens of SMB owners also appear, along with 100 products from 50 Black-owned establishments. Directed by Daps and awash in positive vibes, its "Wake up" refrain/call-to-action might become your earworm du jour.
"Even the candles came from a Black man
Furniture handcrafted by Black hands
You know we eatin' good food cooked in Inglewood
Look on the package and you can see the hood
I need a good collar for my dog—I'ma hit up my dog
I need flowers for my mother—I'ma hit up my brother
It's about time we start helping each other.
... Wake up ... Wake up ... Wake up."
T-Pain, last spotted pouring it on for Lipton Iced Tea, composed the track.
"When I founded Nappy Boy Entertainment in 2005, I had no idea all the directions it would go," the Grammy winner writes in a blog post. "What started as a record label now includes a podcast, gaming and a book—I'm proud of this business. Along the way, I've developed a true passion for small businesses and I admire the hard work it takes to make them successful. I love doing whatever I can to support them."
The campaign invites Black-owned businesses to enhance their visibility via digital tools including a special "B"/heart icon. That badge appears throughout the film and adorns results for Google searches such as "Black-owned businesses near me."
"We wanted to make it really clear that the things you're already shopping for are available Black-owned, you just have to search. Or in this case, shop the film," BBH group creative director Estefanio Holtz tells Muse.
The team tapped Daps to direct based on his ability to build visual stories around pop songs. The mega-popular "Walk It Talk It" video for Migos ft. Drake serves as a prime example.
Banks nearly steals the show, hamming it up as a cable-TV shopping host. "Once we're transported into the world of Black-owned Friday, he seamlessly becomes a hype-man for tons of Black-owned businesses," says Kasia Canning, also an agency GCD.
"We only had two days to shoot, so we tried to squeeze in as many products into as many scenes as possible," Canning recalls. "At one point, we just had an assembly line of people handing products to Desi Banks, saying ,'OK, this is ... uh … a really nice hand sanitizer from Hue Noir, go! OK, next up we have Avec drink mixers! They're all-natural, go!' "
Throughout the spot, T-Pain rocks a rose gold watch from Talley & Twine, one of the featured businesses. It's clearly visible when he operates the elevator buttons.
You can watch some short social edits below:
CREDITS
CLIENT - GOOGLE
SENIOR DIRECTOR, SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING
Claire Mudd
PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER
Wendy Gonzalez
PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER
Nicholas Underhill
PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER
Lisa Hiatt
===================
AGENCY - BBH
CCO
Rafael Rizuto
GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Estefanio Holtz
GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Kasia Canning
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Ty Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Danny Yirgou
DESIGNER
Aedan Clark
COPYWRITER
Chris Davis
—
PRESIDENT
Amani Duncan
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Kyra Beckmann
BUSINESS DIRECTOR
Miranda Hardy
GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Maleika Cole
ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR
Sonali Shukla
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Jay McGill
PRODUCER
Meetra Javed
—
STRATEGY DIRECTOR
Beth Beckman
SENIOR STRATEGIST
Timanni Walker
BUSINESS AFFAIRS DIRECTOR
Alice Isner
BUSINESS AFFAIRS DIRECTOR
Daniella Vargas
BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Yasmeen Taylor
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
John Connolly
SUPERVISING PRODUCER
Kerry Mack
===================
PRODUCTION - ANONYMOUS
DIRECTOR
Daps
PRODUCER
Sara Lacombe
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
SueEllen Clair
DP
Rob Witt
ART DIRECTOR
Cody Fusina
===================
PHOTOGRAPHY - VARIOUS
BTS PHOTOGRAPHER
Mahaneela
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHER
Danielle Alston
RETOUCHING
Ty Johnson, Dippin' Sauce, Ben Taylor
===================
EDITORIAL - CABIN
EDITOR
Randy Baublis
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Chris Kelley
PRODUCER
Hope DuHaime
===================
VFX - CARBON
SENIOR PRODUCER
Kate Smith
VFX SUPERVISOR
Tim Little
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
John Price
FLAME ARTIST
Connor Mullaney
MOTION DESIGNER
Matt Beharry
===================
COLOR - COMPANY 3
COLORIST
Sofie Friis Borup
===================
SOUND DESIGN - SONIC UNION
SOUND ENGINEER
Steve Rosen
===================
WEBSITE - REHAB
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Neil Cooper
SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Blair Richardson
SENIOR PRODUCER
Alicja Czarnecka
LEAD DEVELOPER
Steven Hall
DEVELOPER
Tautvydas Pocius
QA MANAGER
Claire Maillot
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Anthony Hurlstone
UX DESIGNER
Vasileios Matsoukas
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
Ian Applegate
===================
TALENT
MUSIC
T-Pain, Normani
QVC HOST
Desi Banks
SHOPPER
Tanerélle
BUSINESS OWNER (SWÉ ACTIVE)
Gemini Georges
BUSINESS OWNER (HER STORY)
Sophia Ritter
BUSINESS OWNER (LIBERATE LA)
Brittany Davis
BUSINESS OWNER (NOW COLLECTION)
Gabrielle & Rachel Newman
BUSINESS OWNER (SILVERBACK COFFEE OF RWANDA)
Jack Karuletwa
BUSINESS OWNER (NAPPILY NATURALS)
Umaar Norwood & Sharon Williams-Norwood
BUSINESS OWNER (NEON COWBOYS)
Asia Hall
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