What is the name of the song playing in the IDM "Ideating" tv commercial?

January 9, 2008 9:44 PM

The new IBM "Ideating" commercial...What is the music in the background?

Recently a I've seen a few clever IBM commercials for innovation. The music in the background hooked me the second it hit my ears. For 3 days I've diligently searched and have come up with nothing but a few youtube clips. So, what is the name of the song in the background, what is its genre and where can i find more just like it.

posted by Apo11o to media & arts (16 answers total)

Can you post a Youtube link?

You might try adtunes.com; there are a number of results on searching "IBM".
posted by loiseau at 10:29 PM on January 9, 2008

A link would have been helpful.
posted by null terminated at 10:32 PM on January 9, 2008

sorry, not yet familiar with linking. I wanted to add one but i may have missed how to do it. thanks for filling one in for me, thats the exact youtube clip i'm watching now. I've even asked the question in the comments there.
posted by Apo11o at 10:38 PM on January 9, 2008

The music in the ad is probably just written for the ad, but in the style of Palestrina or Tomás Luis de Victoria.

That said, you'd adore this disc. Take a listen to track 3!
posted by stewiethegreat at 11:07 PM on January 9, 2008

It doesn't sound like anything distinctive to me. Many companies use composers supplied by ad agencies to create brief custom pieces as needed. Once upon a time, that was how almost all commercials got their music. The use of existing pop songs and other familiar musical pieces is relatively recent.

If you can find out what agency made the commercial, you can get in touch with them.
posted by maudlin at 11:07 PM on January 9, 2008

That is not the style of Palestrina.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:47 PM on January 9, 2008

I checked the Palestrina, it sounded a bit similar but it wasn't exactly what i was looking for. However, the Tomás Luis de Victoria sounded closer, however, it's still not quite there. I want the lyrics to be more harmonious and a bit less intelligible. Is that asking too much?
posted by Apo11o at 12:10 AM on January 10, 2008

It looks like it was created by these guys Audio Z Productions. There is a link to the commercial on the right-hand side.
posted by Blacksun at 6:27 AM on January 10, 2008

Immediately reminded me of Barber's Agnus Dei. Fell in love with that song the first time I heard it in the game "Homeworld". In fact here's a link. :-)
posted by MarkLark at 7:05 AM on January 10, 2008

The music was produced at Ear to Ear Audio Banks in Santa Monica. The composer is Brian Banks. The music was composed for the spot specifically.
posted by anthropoid at 11:28 AM on January 10, 2008

First, how did you know who composed and produced the score? I believe you, its just that that was a very good, specific answer and i'm curious. Also, does anyone else know of any other musicians or songs strikingly similar to the one in the commercial?
posted by Apo11o at 10:50 PM on January 10, 2008

I work at the agency that produced the spot.
posted by anthropoid at 6:20 AM on January 11, 2008

Ok, then I'm confused, was it Audio Z Productions, or was it Ear to Ear Audio Banks. Was it composed by Brian Banks for/with Audio Z Productions at/with-the-help-of Ear to Ear Audio Banks, or is there something about media production that I'm missing completely. And also, Blacksun, how did you stumble across Audio Z Productions?
posted by Apo11o at 7:39 AM on January 11, 2008

The ad agency at which I work produced the spot, or commercial, as a whole. Meaning, they served as the direct client contact (IBM in this case); wrote the script; hired a production company to shoot the commercial; hired Ear to Ear to to write, perform and record the music track; hired an editor to edit the video; hired a sound design studio to final mix the video, music and voice track. This was done to produce the English version of the ad.

Then the local agency office hired Audio Z to record the French version of the voice track and lay it to the already recorded music and video for air in Canada, which is why it's in French on their site.
posted by anthropoid at 8:28 AM on January 11, 2008

A little late I know.... but I just googled the commercial name and checked through the results.... nothing more complex than that really.
posted by Blacksun at 8:23 PM on January 15, 2008

Blacksun - what exact terms did you google? I can't seem to repeat your results. Also, what exactly did you find? Ad agencies do not normally publish information on composed music such as this track. A link next time might add to your credibility, and might also make it easier for some of us to overlook your arrogance...
posted by anthropoid at 6:32 PM on February 4, 2008