• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, May 16, 2011

Twenty-four hours seems like an eternity, yet if I were told to write and record a song in that same time span, I'd ask for an extension.

Coca-Cola tasked Maroon 5 and ten aspiring musicians to do just that with "24 Hour Session," a live music event that took place in London on March 22. 

The event was part of "Coca-Cola Music," a program to give teens an inside view on the music creating process.

The daylong session was streamed live online via a Web site created by Sapient Nitro.  

The live event, produced by Wieden + Kennedy, was promoted on Coca-Cola's Facebook page that boasts more than 26 million "likes," along with the brand's Twitter page with 277,000 followers. 

What struck me most about this campaign was the way the musicians interacted with fans. Viewers were encouraged to tweet suggestions, pictures and comments using the Twitter hashtag #WithMaroon5. Fans also voted on music-making ideas suggested by the band. 

We know how the fans interacted with Maroon 5, but how did the band interact with fans? Did they drop microphone and instruments to lean over a computer screen and follow incoming feedback? Not even close.  

Nexus Interactive Arts created a movement-based projection screen, reminiscent of "Minority Report," that projected fan comments and feedback onto a studio wall. 

"Coke challenged us to come up with a way to enable people everywhere to take part in the 24hr Session," said Iain Tait, Global Interactive Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy.

"Crashing together the everyday social world of teenagers, and the exclusive and inaccessible world of the recording studio, we're hoping to create something that feels part video game, part pop video and part reality TV show."

The finished song, "Anybody Out There," can be downloaded for free on the Web site.