Printers in Concert
Canon
Issue 42 | March 2017
Agency
360i
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: Pierre Lipton Group Creative Director: Fabio Seidl Creative Director: Dustin Glick Art Director: Kate DeLongpre
Production Team
VP, Production: Colin Pearsall Producer: Austin Shore Production Company: TOOL North America Director: Alec Helm Music: Music and Strategy Managing Director: James Alvich Senior Producer: Joey Reyes Conductor / Composer: Eric Hachikian Post Production: Fluid Editor: Heather Danosky Senior Producer: Valerie Iorio
Other Credits
EVP, Group Account Director: Doug Fidoten Account Supervisor: Monica Sharma Account Manager: Allison Guggenheimer VP, Strategy: Brad Alperin Senior Strategist: Emily Brown
Date
December 2016
Background
In 2016, Canon imageCLASS launched a series of new printers designed for use in mid to large sized offices. In order to prove that the machines could handle a busy office environment, they put the printers to the test – a test of coordination, precision, and reliability.
Idea
To demonstrate the efficiency and reliability of their imageCLASS printers, Canon asked an orchestra to perform an arrangement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony, and instead of reading sheet music on a stand, they were surprised with 19 imageCLASS printers that would print the sheet music in real time. The performance was not rehearsed and it was first time the musicians and conductor had ever performed together. A single mistake would throw the entire piece off course. But to pull it off, the printers had to print a combined 70 pages during the 90-second arrangement, in complete synchronization in front of a live audience in New York City. The feat required absolute precision timing and utter dependability from the printers in a high stakes environment. The resulting performance was executed perfectly, without missing a single beat.
The corresponding film represents a different approach to B2B advertising, moving beyond the standard list of specs and pricing. This was an opportunity to merge art with business and tech to enhance and even beautify the perception of everyday office occurrences, like printing paper or making copies.