72andSunny's Glenn Cole Directs Music Video for Junkie XL

by: cricket, Mar 9 2006 - 12:36am

Glenn Cole, creative director of Los Angeles ad shop 72andSunny, has teamed up with international electronic artist and producer Junkie XL on a promo for the track "Today," from the forthcoming album of the same name. Cole directed the video, which was conceived together with 72andSunny writer Jason Norcross.

This has proven to be a very hairy pairing .....

Glenn Cole and Junkie XL (aka Tom Holkenborg) first collaborated together in 2002, when Cole was a creative director at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam. Cole contacted the artist to remix the Elvis song “A Little Less Conversation” for Nike’s World Cup 2002 commercial.

Said Glenn Cole, Partner & Creative Director, 72andSunny, “Tom and I have remained friends since then. Coincidentally, we both managed to find ourselves moving from Amsterdam to Los Angeles a few years ago, so I’ve tapped him on several other projects since we started 72andSunny in 2004. We enjoy collaborating together. I love his music and style, and I think he’s a fan of what we do. We’ve been exploring some non-traditional work lately with the goal of putting our creative stamp on anything and everything we deem culturally cool, so this music video ties very well into the agency’s creative agenda at the moment.”

The “Today” video stars Junkie XL, wearing his signature newsboy cap and retro 1950s duds. He’s the owner of a barbershop, which—in addition to crew cuts, hi-top fades, shaves and buzz cuts—specializes in ”Junkifying” hair. This style is the most popular, as evidenced by the parade of customers who come in looking normal and leave “Junkified.” A middle-aged lady gets an afro adorned with Christmas lights, a slick young man sports a sideways Mohawk, and an airline stewardess has her hair fashioned into a “Haircopter,” complete with hair-made spinning propeller blades. Despite the extreme hairdos, all leave the salon satisfied. The track “Today” showcases the vocals of up-and-coming singer Nathan Mader, who is featured prominently throughout Junkie XL’s new album.

The one-day shoot took place in an actual barbershop in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles. The cast consisted of everyday people who good-humoredly gave Junkie XL—who has never had professional training as a hairdresser or barber—free reign with their hair. Veteran stylist Anni Kim oversaw Junkie XL’s amateur ‘dos, but created the most avant-garde hairstyles in the video herself.

Adds Cole, “Part of the inspiration for the video was how people alter their look, their hair—everything—when they go clubbing. It’s like self-permission to cut loose and let go. We took that sort of literally. Plus, we just thought it would be fun to spend a day f-ing up people’s hair.”

The video breaks in Europe mid-March, while the album will have its North American release on April 18th and rest-of-world releases April 24th on Ultra Records and Roadrunner Records, respectively. 72andSunny’s Stephan Baik also designed a promotional poster for the album, available for retailers, distributors and Junkie XL fans.