Steve Aoki’s X-Freeze Tic Tac Campaign Is A Rush Of X-Treme Footage: Exclusive
The Grammy-nominated producer and DJ talks about his role as the campaign's creative director.
Grammy-nominated DJ and producer Steve Aoki has done a lot of things. He started a label when he was 19, directed and starred in nearly 100 music videos, wrote a memoir about his life and helped write and release a comic book series. He’s collaborated with everyone from BTS to Snoop Dogg, Bill Nye and J.J. Abrams. Now, he adds Creative Director for Tic Tac to his ever-growing resume.
“It’s crazy to know this brand you grew up with actually knows who you are and is excited to work as you,” Aoki says. “The synergy was already there. They got my DNA, and that’s why, when we first approached doing this project together, I wanted to get involved more than just an ambassador.”
Tic Tac’s new X-Freeze mint is designed to pack an intense punch of freshness that lasts longer than the mints of your childhood. The more than 50-year-old brand needed someone just as powerful to helm the campaign, and Tic Tac figured no one was better than a world-traveling daredevil with a worldwide following.
“This whole campaign is about that intense energy,” he says. “I live at a very fast pace. Life could be a blur, so it’s important we get that epic shot when I’m jumping off a cliff in Ibiza, scuba diving in Corsica, skydiving in Dubai – also all the things that make up my career; all the incredible fans, the shows, the energy and stories. The only time I get to see this stuff is when we recap for our own web series or a campaign like this.”
Aoki is comfortable in the creative director role when it comes to his label. He’s been hand’s-on writing video treatments, designing merchandise and fashion drops, and more, but he’s never stepped into such a role with a commercial brand. With the X-Freeze campaign, Aoki took the helm crafting mood boards, starring in and directing on-set shoots, as well as sorting and picking out actual footage from his life on the road that captures “life on the edge moments.”
“[I learned that] if [a company] wants to work with you, and the energy is there, you just have to be yourself and let that shine,” he says. “It’s like going into the studio with Hans Zimmer. If I go in there all scared and timid and shy, Steve Aoki isn’t alive. I need to be present and in it. In life, if you think too much about your expectations or what’s to come, you miss your soul that people want from you. You really need to give that.”
Aoki is still busy on the musical front. He just released “Maldad” alongside Colombian singer Maluma, The video has more than 2 million views on YouTube and serves as a single from his forthcoming album Neon Future IV, due out in March. Aoki promises it’s his biggest album to date.
“It’s actually more like two and a half albums,” he says.
Aoki will support the LP with a North American tour in spring, and back it up with the seventh edition of his Neon Future comic series. The Tic Tac X-Freeze campaign with Steve Aoki officially launches today. Check out Aoki’s commercial and some behind-the-scenes footage of the campaign shoot below.