Call it "We are the Swirl." As brandchannel broke on January 7th, Kraft's Miracle Whip dressing brand has produced its first musical video, an "anthem" that will premiere during Sunday night's Grammy Awards telecast, but won't run on CBS. Instead, it's being promoted on the brand's social and digital channels.

The tongue-in-cheek video, above, stars Scottish songbird Susan Boyle (in her first U.S. commercial endorsement) and an unlikely crew of musicians, including Lance Bass (formerly of 'N Sync and readying his first solo album), country star Wynonna Judd, '80's pop star Tiffany, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke, alt rock drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher of Fishbone, heavy metal singer Don Dokken, rap/hip-hop artist Chali 2na, and members of the Village People.

In the vein of "We are the World" and other musical pleas for understanding, the eclectic mix of performers sings "Keep an Open Mouth," continuing on a theme that debuted during last year's Academy Awards telecast. The sense of humor is in keeping with a brand that makes light of its claim that "a lot of people say they hate us without every (even) trying us," as its YouTube channel notes.

As Judd tweeted, the campaign's goal is "to set all the pre-judgers out there straight." Addressing the "haters," the Miracle Whip Twitter feed promoted the video (hashtag: #KAOM) with the comment, "Don't knock it 'til you try it," and will be live-tweeting throughout the Grammys telecast.

Famous mouths opening up — isn't that what the Grammys are all about?

Miracle Whip has just posted a teaser video on its YouTube channel (watch above) hinting at some of the gold-plated throats that will help the brand promote its sponsorship of Sunday's Grammy Awards telecast on CBS, recording a song (a title guess: "We are the Swirl"?) and using the tagline — "Keep an Open Mouth" — that the Kraft-owned brand introduced during another awards show: the 2012 Academy Awards.

Participating musicians include Scottish singer Susan Boyle, country legend Wynonna Judd (who's been tweeting about the launch—see below), former 'N Sync vocalist Lance Bass, '80's pop star Tiffany, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke (who tweeted an Instagram photo of Boyle with his motorcycle; thanks, Fairacre, for the Twitter tip), and members of the Village People (who posted photos from the video shoot on Facebook), all seen in a behind-the-scenes video during the taping at Ocean Way Studios in Hollywood.

The teaser ends: "Famous Mouths Are Opening Up for Miracle Whip" and promises an "epic video" (update: watch it here) that will be "opening" on Sunday. Ahead of Sunday's debut, the campaign is being promoted on the brand's Facebook page and on Twitter with the hashtag #KAOM, an acronym for the "Keep an Open Mouth" tagline.Continue reading...

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New York's disco group whose classic dance hit YMCA has become "a staple at nearly every ballgame, wedding and Bar Mitzvah," according to their publicist, responded to today's news that the YMCA is rebranding to its nickname: the Y.

Village People (unlike the Y, they prefer no "The") sent us the following comment from the road. (Yes, they're still touring and performing year-round after 33 years.)

“We are deeply dismayed by today's announcement from the YMCA that they feel a name change and a rebranding are in order after 166 years. Some things remain iconic and while we admire the organization for the work they do, we still can’t help but wonder Y.”

They won't change a letter in their song, which they'll keep performing as written and beloved. (We'd be disappointed if they did.) The organization, meanwhile, explained its new branding at a press conference in Washington, D.C. today.Continue reading...