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Lebron James/Kid 'N Play Insurance Commercial
I realize that I'm merely playing into the hands of State Farm's marketing agency by linking to the above "viral" video, but I'm always fascinated whenever the mainstream media makes reference to one of the hip hop acts from my youth. In this case, we have Lebron James, a rather odd choice for insurance company spokesman, calling his vehicularly-challenged friend out for owning a copy of Kid 'N Play's debut album, 2 Hype. Now, granted, even as a grade schooler I realized that Kid 'N Play came dangerously close to veering into cornball territory with some of their songs, but I don't ever remember being ashamed of owning one of their cds. When did Gumby fades and coordinated dance routines fall out of fashion?
What's interesting about all of this is the fact that State Farm's ongoing marketing campaign - the above commercial was just the first of what is to be a series of ads on tv and in print - has been put together by Steve Stoute and his ad agency, Translation Advertising (of which Jay-Z is a co-owner). Stoute is perhaps most famous for being the man on the receiving end of an alleged beatdown from Puffy back in '99, after Stoute refused to edit Puff, who apparently found a sudden burst of religious indignation inspired by the (million dollar diamond-studded) cross hanging around his neck, out of Nas' crucifixion video. Stoute spent most of the 90's as an executive over at Sony and Interscope, where he managed artists like Nas and Mary J Blige, but he got his start in the music business working as the road manager for Kid 'N Play. Has Stoute been holding onto a grudge against Kid 'N Play for nearly two decades, or is this his way of giving his old friends a shoutout?
The highlight of Kid 'N Play's career was undoubtedly House Party (with Class Act coming in as a close second), but here's the song that first got them mainstream attention:
Kid 'N Play - Rollin' With Kid 'N Play
11/6/2008 09:11:01 PM posted by Fresh