Infiniti Sponsoring Sundance Music Series

Elvis Costello performing at last week's premiere party for the Infiniti-branded series on Sundance.

Infiniti and Dell will sponsor a music series featuring Elvis Costello on Sundance Channel in a multi-platform deal with content to play on air and online.

The one-hour “Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…” debuts on Dec. 3 in primetime for a 13-episode run on Sundance. Costello will play a tune written by his musical guest to start, followed by a conversation between Costello and the guest artist and that artist’s producer.

Two-minute Infiniti-branded vignettes dubbed “The Inspiration Sessions” will feature candid conversations between the show’s guests discussing the music that inspired them. Two-minute Dell vignettes entitled “Discovered” will profile emerging artists

The two-minute Infiniti- branded vignettes will also be archived on the Sundance Channel website, at www.sundancechannel.com. An Infiniti billboard will open each segment and a 20-second closing segment will make the connection between musical inspiration and Infiniti vehicles, according to Janine Ramer, Infiniti group director of strategy.

“The integration is organic to the Sundance Channel,” said Ramer.

An Infiniti “shell” in the “Spectacle” micro-site on the Sundance Channel site will contain shots of Infiniti vehicles and information about vehicle features. The idea is to evoke a “humanistic side” of the brand and appeal to a psychographic that Infiniti calls “passionate curators,” consumers who connect with the arts and Infiniti, according to Ramer.

The Dell-branded vignettes will be archived online, which also contain footage from the “Spectacle” series. Factoids about the AIDS pandemic in Africa will also appear during “Spectacle” in line with Dell’s commitment to that cause. 

The series is co-produced by Rocket Pictures and Tri-Fi Productions. It will also be broadcast on CTV in Canada and Channel 4 in the UK.