Switzerland
The case
Pro Infirmis, a Swiss charity, created a striking awareness campaign by placing mannequins with physical disabilities in the shop windows of Zurich’s main shopping street, documented in a short film for their own channels. The brief for music was ambitious: ideally, work with a famous artist willing to license a song for a nominal fee to a good cause, or alternatively commission a new piece.
For a charity, that balance between ambition and budget is particularly sharp. The music needed to feel human and authentic, not like generic library sound, and to support a story about dignity and visibility without overwhelming it. At the same time, Pro Infirmis could not realistically fund a traditional “big artist” route.
What the industry playbook suggested
The usual playbook would say: a truly famous artist is unlikely. High‑profile acts receive countless requests from charities and typically narrow their support to a few causes close to their heart. The pragmatic advice would be to either:
- fall back to library music or low‑cost custom composition, or
- try to clear a known track via labels and publishers, but accept limited flexibility, slow response times and minimal artist involvement.
In both cases, the expectation is that music remains “background”, supportive but not central, and that any deeper artist collaboration is unrealistic within a charity context.
What our infrastructure unlocked
Tracks & Fields approached the brief differently. While they did search label and publisher catalogues, they also deliberately opened the search to promising self‑released artists without label affiliations, aiming for closer collaboration and more flexibility.
Sending briefings directly to artists had become part of their process. To handle this at scale, they had developed a dedicated workflow and music management portal to manage submissions efficiently. This infrastructure made it possible to:
- reach many relevant artists directly,
- assess fit quickly (musical, thematic, personal), and
- keep negotiations lean and transparent.
The song chosen was “Lost at Sea” by emerging artist Dave Thomas Junior, who was about to release a new album a week after the campaign. Working with him directly meant the track could be taken back to its production roots and adjusted to better match the film – in this case with the artist himself making the changes.
The finished film was then uploaded to YouTube:
The campaign gained momentum fast, reaching millions of views and placing Dave in the middle of rapidly growing attention. Only a day into the launch, one of thousands of comments suggested he should release the album immediately. In a follow-up video, he shared his experience and thoughts on the campaign and the response:
He ended up releasing his album a few hours earlier than planned and announced that the earnings from the song would be donated to Pro Infirmis in the meantime; a level of artist-led engagement that would have been unlikely without this direct relationship.
The result
Tracks & Fields’ approach turned what could have been “just” a soundtrack into a genuine artist collaboration and a viral moment. The film became a global hit with more than 25 million views and won a Silver for Best Use of Music at the Art Directors Club, underlining how central the track was to the campaign’s impact.
Using an existing song added authenticity and emotional depth; working directly with a self‑released artist delivered the flexibility and speed to adapt the music, sync the release timing, and respond spontaneously to audience feedback – to the benefit of both Pro Infirmis and Dave Thomas Junior.
If you want your next campaign to touch your audience with music that feels authentic and still perfectly aligned with your strategy, we’d be happy to explore how direct artist collaboration and the right infrastructure can make that happen.
