BIG W Rap Books brings a fresh take on children’s books with Jessica Mauboy via M&C Saatchi
BIG W has today announced the launch of a new initiative – BIG W Rap Books developed by M&C Saatchi Sydney. BIG W Rap Books is a fun series, which takes some of Australia’s most-loved children’s rhyming books and turns them into playful, fun raps for families to enjoy.
BIG W Rap Books gives a surprising twist to story time and the way Aussie children and parents interact with their favourite books. In order to bring the words to life, BIG W has collaborated with critically acclaimed music producers and leading Australian artists, Jessica Mauboy and Tom Thum, who have brought their unique style to the work of both new and established Australian children’s authors, modernising and adapting words and illustrations that are loved and adored by families.
BIG W Rap Books will be housed on BIG W’s Big Days at Home hub, with tracks being released from Thursday 1 October to Sunday October 4. Tracks will also be available across digital and social media and all major music streaming platforms including Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music. Additionally, families are invited to give rapping a go with some fun karaoke versions of Jessica and Tom’s raps.
Says Avish Gordhan, executive creative director at M&C Saatchi: “This year, we’ve all had to look at inventive ways to keep the family entertained. We took the notion that ‘if it rhymes, it raps’ and created BIG W Rap Books, tapping into culture to put a new spin on story time.
“Jessica and Tom masterfully combined rap, melody and beat boxing to these rhyming books to make them head-boppingly fun and engaging. It was really important to us that this content inspire families to have a go themselves and they can, thanks to our karaoke tracks.”
For every listen on Spotify and YouTube, royalties will be donated to Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, an organisation that shares BIG W’s commitment to raising literacy levels in Australia.
Says Kristen Linders, general manager, marketing, BIG W: “We are delighted to bring the concept of BIG W Rap Books to Aussie families. Story time is so important in connecting families and we are constantly seeking new ideas and initiatives to help kids enjoy our leading range of books in new and unique ways.”
BIG W Rap Books sees Jessica Mauboy “get down” to Aussie classics Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey and Dharma the Llama by Matt Cosgrove, while Tom Thum overhauls all-time favourites, Alpacas with Maracas by Matt Cosgrove and The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland.
Client: BIG W
Kristen Linders – General Manager, Marketing
Carly Bowra – Head of Brand & Category Marketing
Ruchi Agarwal – Marketing Manager
Fiona Harrop – Head of Media Buying, Social Media and
Public Relations
Michelle Bartolo – Public Relations Manager
Alice Harrison – Social Media Manager
Creative Agency: M&C Saatchi
M&C Saatchi
CCO: Cam Blackley
Executive Creative Director: Avish Gordhan & Mandie van der Merwe
Creative Director: Brendan Donnelly
Senior Copywriter: Allie Steel
Art Director: Nicole Yeoman
Group Head: Ben Greenslade
Senior Account Manager: Lydia Caldwell
Integrated Project Director: Vanessa Millemaggi
Senior Strategy Director: Sabrina Douglas
Social Strategy Director: Emma Parsons
Executive Producer: John Pannocchia
UI & Motion Designer: Jay McGuinness
Big Sync Music
Country Manager: Michael Szumowski
PR Agency: Red Havas
Media Agency: Carat
17 Comments
Or they just saw the video of the guy rapping Dr. Zeus and said “let’s do that”.
i wrote this press release
‘BIG W Rap Books sees Jessica Mauboy “get down” to Aussie classics’
110%
My kids wil love it
This is just plain fun. Love it.
This is awesome. Dam thing gonna be stuck in my head all day. Go Jess.
Here’s where they took the idea from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6bE1p7vwZjo
I think this is fun. And thats all we need atm
Next.
“Hey fam, this is totally fire.”
Gold Star for you.
This is going straight to audiobook.
Always good to see a brand push its own level of creativity.
A shame it’s a rip. But it often takes that to get an idea like this past such a big client.
Where was the studio?
But the OG was way better yo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVWxps_2Gn0
Surely it wasn’t just me, but whenever a kids book rhymes, the flow is just right at add some melody to it… Singing it or rapping it makes it more fun for me. My kids didn’t always like, but that probably because I’m not very good at it.
Obviously, YouTube guy does it way better and is the OG!