Hasta La Ideas

Last week Parisian agency BETC Euro RSCG presented three music acts with an unusual challenge: to write and record a song during an Air France flight between Paris and Tokyo…

Gonzales, Monsieur Monsieur and The Shoes all took part in the event, which aimed to highlight Air France’s introduction of the A380 aircraft to the Paris-Tokyo route. The roomy aircraft, which has unfortunately been suffering from a bad PR run of late due to Qantas’ engine troubles, provided space in which the musicians could work, as the film above documents. Fans of the acts were invited to enter a competition to join the flight via Facebook.

The musicians were allowed to begin work on the songs before the flight, but toiled throughout it to finesse the tunes. The tracks were then mastered in Tokyo, and finished in time to be performed at an event held at Warehouse 702 the day after arrival. Leading Japanese DJ, TA-1 also performed at the event. The four completed tracks (which are remarkably good, especially considering the conditions of their birth) are now available to listen to online, here.

The project strenghtens Air France’s connection to music, a link that has been established by BETC Music (the agency’s music arm) over several years. The agency ‘curates’ the music that appears onboard the flights, and even the airline’s telephone hold music, and the style of music chosen is notable for featuring young, upcoming bands alongside established, but always cool, acts. The airline also has a history of sponsoring live music events, with the Tokyo gig following a concert by Phoenix in Madison Square Garden in New York last month, sponsored by the airline, where Daft Punk also made a rare appearance. Further events are also planned for next year. For more on Air France Music, visit music.airfrance.com.

Credits:
Agency: BETC Euro RSCG
Agency management: Valérie Albou, Tiphaine du Plessis, Timoti Auscher
BETC Music management: Fabrice Brovelli, Christophe Caurret, Nelson Burton
Global creative director: Rémi Babinet
Creative director: Florence Bellisson
Art director: Thérèse Jonsson
Copywriter: Linnéa Kavsjö