• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, April 5, 2018

Well this is an interesting project for an advertising agency. It’s not really advertising, but then these days a lot of what agencies do extends way beyond making ads.

McCann has helped MGM Resorts International produce a collection of what it’s calling “reimagined wedding songs” for the LGBTQ community packaged under the “Universal Love” label.

And they got some super-star power to contribute including Bob Dylan, who re-recorded “She’s Funny That Way” as “He’s Funny That Way.”

The lodging giant and the agency got five other well-known artists to participate, including:  Kesha (“I Need a Woman to Love Me”), St. Vincent (“And Then She Kissed Me”), Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie (“And I Love Him”), Kele Okereke of Bloc Party (“My Guy”), and Valerie June (“Mad About The Girl”).

Phyllis James, MGM Resorts’ chief diversity & corporate social responsibility officer, said, “We believe projects like this will help all of us reach a point where seeing the world through the lens of people who happen to be different from us becomes natural and commonplace.”

Well said Phyllis, one can only hope. And truth be told, as a society I think we’re making progress on that front, albeit with a lot of work still to do.

And while this project may not be advertising strictly speaking, it surely falls within the broader marketing purview which increasingly dictates that brands clearly state their values and what they stand for.  Universal Love is being distributed by Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music and is available on streaming platforms beginning today. 

McCann and MGM Resorts expanded their relationship last year.