Case Study: David Bowie Is Here

The idea

“Looking at the emotional images of street-side tributes that followed the days after his death, we realized that New Yorkers had a special place in their heart for David Bowie,” Spotify explained.

Bowie lived in the Soho neighbourhood of Manhattan for the last twenty years of his life, “So the idea was to celebrate the way New York helped to shape him, and the artistic legacy of his relationship with the city.” His local subway station, Broadway-Lafayette, was chosen as the ideal spot for this tribute, which would take the form of a museum with over 40 artworks and creative outdoor ads on display.

Production

Spotify began by securing all the subway and outdoor advertising media sites in the station for four weeks. They then worked closely with New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and their media partner UM to use media spaces that went beyond regular outdoor advertising placements. For example, access to the 150-ft structural beams running over the prime stairway access points was available for use for the first time in the subway station’s history. The effect was “a gallery-like atmosphere.”

In conjunction with the Brooklyn Museum, The David Bowie estate worked with Spotify to allow access to his notoriously vast, and well-protected archive. The team poured over thousands of items to find stories related to Bowie’s relationship with New York.

For this best-in-class New York Subway takeover campaign, each of the pieces displayed had a story behind it and added to the sense of visiting something unique.

For example, never-before-seen photographs from Bowie collaborators Mick Rock and Masayoshi Sukita were printed in large format and displayed prominently. The infamous “David Bowery” street sign- originally graffitied during Winter Storm Jonas in 2016, was recreated and hung from the subway station’s rafters.

During their research, the team discovered that David Bowie had originally intended Ziggy Stardust to take place in the same Greenwich Village neighbourhood the station occupied.When no artwork depicting this origin story was uncovered, they approached Bowie’s schoolfriend and long-time collaborator-illustrator, George Underwood. He created an original piece that included Ziggy Stardust strolling through a fantastical Greenwich Village scene.

A design language was established to provide wayfinding, promote the exhibition and encourage participation. The design approach of this smart outdoor and subway takeover ad campaign was extended throughout the space on turnstiles, pillars, stairs, and location maps. Each piece was accompanied by a museum-style description card, with quotes from David Bowie about the impact of New York City on his work. Unique Spotify codes enabled the public to listen to the corresponding song. The goal was to create an intimate museum experience within a public space.

Finally, in a rare move, the New York Transit Authority granted Spotify permission to print limited-edition metro cards. Five different unique designs were created, each dedicated to one of Bowie’s personas (including Ziggy Stardust, Alladin Sane, Thin White Duke). These cards doubled as tickets to the exhibition. They were dubbed ‘Tickets to Mars’ and only available at Broadway-Lafayette station.

The launch

The subway takeover was launched to the people of New York in April 2018, with further support on social media. Spotify calculate that the creative outdoor media installation caused $31m worth of earned media impressions, and 57m people were organically reached on Instagram and Twitter in the first week.

It was perhaps the limited-edition subway metro cards that caused the biggest stir, as long lines to buy them formed, and complete sets sold on eBay for over $200. The David Bowie Is Brooklyn Museum Exhibition itself had over 2 million visitors. Meanwhile online, streams of David Bowie songs on Spotify rose by 28% within New York.

At the D&AD Awards, David Bowie Is Here won five Pencils, including two coveted D&AD Yellow Pencils, one forFree Format Poster Advertising, and the other for Interactive Sites Poster Advertising. The effect was to catapult Spotify into the top ten client list at the awards.

“At a moment when the world was pausing to appreciate David Bowie, we provided an opportunity to uncover a portal into the genius that moves through the heart of their city every day,” says Spotify. “It celebrates both the inspiration he found here in New York, and the worldwide impact he had.”

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