AMP’s gala evening at the Winery in Tribeca (Photo by Ric Kallaher)

Leo Burnett and David Bowie made strong showings at the Association of Music Producers 2015 AMP Awards, for music composed and licensed for marketing and advertising purposes.

Allstate’s “Safe in My Hands” commercial won Best In Show for Burnett on the strength of the eponymous original song, written and performed by Eli Lieb, for the insurance company’s LGBT outreach campaign, devised by Leo Burnett, as well as Best Original Song.  That last, shared with the R&B-inflected “Showtime”spot for German auto manufacturer Opel for its new Corsa model smart car (launched in Ireland).

Accepting for McKenzie Stubbert and Walker Music for an alt take on David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” for the Boxtrolls movie. (Photo by Ric Kallaher)

A re-imagining of Bowie’s thumpin’ 1983 hit “Let’s Dance,” arranged with a magical lilt by McKenzie Stubbert, won for Outstanding Adaptation and Best Use of Music for a Film or Game Trailer (with the Portland-based Walker music studio also acknowledged).  While the level of achievement is equally impressive in each, our two favorites (for the clever interplay of music and visuals) are GE’s “Drop Science” (PLUSHnyc) and the Motel 6 “Autocorrect” (from the Richards Group, for its total twist on digital sound) .

Chevrolet and Pepsi were inducted into the AMP Hall of Fame, for a legacy of music that has made its impact felt both culturally and in creatively.  Previous inductees include McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Nike and Budweiser. Accepting on behalf of Chevrolet was Steve Haener, Director, Media, Experiential Marketing & Brand Partnerships, with CMO Global Consumer Engagement Frank Cooper III  doing the honors for PepsiCo. The Hall of Fame awards were presented by iHeartMedia CMO Gayle Troberman.

The third annual AMP celebration took place May 5 at the Winery in Tribeca.  Universal Music was the official sponsor and the evening featured performances by label acts such as Photo Finish, Republic’s Marian Hill and Gin Wigmore (via Island Records). SonicScoop called it “a music business event like no other,” while Billboard noted with some irony that the boisterous soiree was so much fun Troberman found herself having to shush the crowd to better hear the audio.

Josh Rabinowitz of Grey Advertising, with Groove Guild’s Al Risi and Paul Riggio. (Photo by Ric Kallaher)

(Next stop, 100-watt stax and Madison Square Garden?)

Check out the extensive 2015 AMP Awards photo album by Ric Kallaher.

The following is a complete list of winners with links to the winning works. 

Best Original Song (2 winners)
“Safe In My Hands”
Allstate
Leo Burnett USA

“Showtime”
Opel Corsa
Yessian Music

Best Original Score (2 winners)
“Boy Raised By Goats”
Pepto Bismol
butter music + sound

“Celebrate As One”
Budweiser
duotone audio group

Outstanding Adaptation
“Let’s Dance”
LAIKA  “The Boxtrolls”
David Bowie (Arr: McKenzie Stubbert)
Walker

Best Use of a Licensed Song
“Swarovski”
Samsung   Gear / Galaxy
Song:  “Hey Mami”  by Sylvan Esso
Leo Burnett USA

Best Sound Design (2 winners)
“Boxhead”
Gillette
Heard City
“Sing Network”
AT&T / 4G LTE
Human

Most Effective Use of Music in a Campaign
“IBM Think Forum”
IBM
Found Objects

Best Use of Music for a Film or Game Trailer
“Let’s Dance”
LAIKA   The Boxtrolls
David Bowie (Arr: McKenzie Stubbert)
Walker

Most Effective Use of Music in a Non-Broadcast Medium
“Samba Of The World”
Visa
COPILOT Strategic Music+Sound

Outstanding Mix (2 winners)
“Van dam Boats”
Craftsman
Color

“Drop Science”
General Electric: GE’s Drop Science
PLUSHnyc

Most Effective Sonic Branding
“Stoli Digital Campaign”
Stolichnaya
Antfood

Most Impactful Radio Commercial
“Autocorrect”
Motel 6
The Richards Group

Best In Show
“Safe In My Hands”
Allstate
Song:  “Safe In My Hands”  Artist/Composer:  Eli Lieb
Leo Burnett USA