Karen MacMillan, senior director of advertising and branding at independent label Nettwerk, had an uphill climb with “Let Her Go,” the emotionally stirring but thematically mournful single from British singer/songwriter Passenger originally released in August 2012. But after a year-and-a-half of pitching the track to brands and ad agencies, most of which were looking for something a little more cheery, MacMillan and the label got a bigger breakthrough than they ever imagined. Budweiser, and its ad agency Anomaly, selected “Let Her Go” for the dialogue-free Super Bowl spot “Puppy Love,” featuring the brand’s signature Clydesdale horses and one adorable pup.
“It was pretty down to the wire,” MacMillan says, noting that rights were cleared with Nettwerk and publisher Sony/ATV on the Monday before the big game. “But if you asked me for my dream way to break that song in the U.S. marketplace, it would have been that ad.”
Of course, “Let Her Go” had broken already-a “Tonight Show” performance and VH1 You Oughta Know spotlight last summer had helped drive sales to 2.9 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But now it’s a viral sensation — the Budweiser spot, for which Nettwerk earned an undisclosed six-figure fee for one year, racked up more than 44 million YouTube views in a week, and sales jumped 51% to 176,000 overnight. The song is poised to best its Billboard Hot 100 No. 6 peak next week.
“It’s a favorite topic around here at the office,” Nettwerk VP of marketing and label strategy Liz Erman says. Riding the Budweiser wave, Nettwerk will continue to promote “Let Her Go” before releasing a new Passenger album in spring or summer. Though with iTunes and Walmart coming onboard to push 2-year-old album “All the Little Lights” during Valentine’s Day retail campaigns, and a “Today” performance booked for Feb. 24, no one’s ready to let this moment go just yet.