How I Created Music and Sound for TUMI, Banana Republic and Mind Games
Fragrance advertising has an obvious limitation: the audience cannot smell the product through a screen.
Music and sound have to help bridge that gap. They give weight to the bottle, establish the pace of the film and suggest qualities such as warmth, freshness, elegance or tension before the viewer knows anything about the fragrance itself.
During 2024, I have worked with The Fragrance Group on campaign videos featuring three very different fragrance brands: Banana Republic, TUMI and Mind Games.
My work includes original music, sound design, product sounds, ambient textures, production of a professional voice-over and final mixes adapted for different video formats.
Four Short Films for Banana Republic
The Banana Republic campaign consists of four short films with a clean, contemporary visual style.
I create an original music track for three of the videos and a separate variation for the fourth. This keeps the campaign sonically consistent while allowing one film to have its own character.
The sound design follows the motion on screen, particularly the rotation and movement of the fragrance bottles. These effects have to make the animation feel physical without drawing attention away from the product.
Each video receives its own final mix, along with separate music, effects and ambient stems. This gives the production team enough flexibility to adjust the sound for different edits and placements.
One of the finished Banana Republic films publicly credits my work on the sound.
Recording the TUMI Bottle and Producing the Voice-Over
The TUMI campaign requires a broader audio package: original music, sound design and production of a professional voice-over.
For one of the product sounds, The Fragrance Group sends an original TUMI fragrance bottle to my studio in Los Angeles. The bottle has a distinctive cap, and I record its actual click for the video.
A library effect could communicate that a cap has closed, but it would not reproduce the character of this particular object. By recording the bottle itself, I can capture a sound that belongs to the product and integrate it naturally into the film.
The voice-over script is supplied by the client. My responsibility is to record and produce the performance in professional studio quality, then balance it with the music and effects. The voice has to remain clear and controlled while matching the pace and tone of the brand’s message.
The finished campaign audio includes a main version of up to 40 seconds and a separate six-second cutdown. Both require complete mixes rather than simply trimming the longer soundtrack. In a six-second format, every sound arrives faster and has to communicate its purpose immediately.
Creating a Sound System for Mind Games
Mind Games approaches fragrance through the visual and conceptual language of chess. The brand connects perfumery with strategy, tension and calculated movement, giving the campaign a darker and more immersive character.
My first assignment covers six individual candle-focused videos and one film presenting the collection as a whole.
I create an original soundscape for each candle, combining music with ambient environmental sounds. The six pieces need to feel individual while clearly belonging to the same collection. For the main brand video, I compose a separate piece that brings the full line together.
In total, this part of the campaign requires seven individual sound mixes, along with separate music, effects and ambient stems.
I also create the audio for a separate Mind Games hero film. It is delivered in a full version of up to 40 seconds and a short version of approximately six to eight seconds. The music and ambient sound design follow the brand’s central qualities: mysterious, luxurious, cerebral and immersive.
The two Mind Games assignments show why a campaign sometimes needs more than one soundtrack. A single piece can establish a general mood, but a collection with several products requires a broader sonic system — one that remains recognizable while allowing each film to have its own pace and atmosphere.
What Complete Commercial Sound Production Includes
These campaigns begin with different briefs, but the underlying process is consistent.
I study the product, visual references, editing rhythm and brand language before deciding what the music should do. From there, the work may expand into original composition, recording physical product sounds, producing a voice actor, building ambient environments and preparing different mixes for full-length videos and social media cutdowns.
The final delivery is not just a music track placed under a video. It is a complete audio package designed around the campaign: music, effects, voice, ambient layers, final mixes and separated stems that the production team can use across different formats.
That approach allows the sound to feel like part of the product’s identity rather than an addition made after the visual work is finished.
If you need original music, sound design or voice-over production for a commercial, product film or digital campaign, contact me.
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