D/CAL, THE CULTURE-DRIVEN BRAND AGENCY, PARTNERS WITH GIBSON BRANDS TO RELAUNCH THE STORIED MAESTRO ELECTRONICS BRAND

DETROIT, Jan. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a global launch for Gibson Guitar's newest acoustic collection, strategic creative agency D/CAL and Gibson Brands continue their partnership to relaunch Maestro, the brand that pioneered guitar effects almost four decades ago. Most notably, after The Rolling Stones used Maestro's now infamous Fuzz-Tone pedal to achieve the signature sound on "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" in 1962. "This reboot is kind of like the brand that came out of a coma forty years later - same personality, same soul, but didn't need to be caught up on anything," said Mike Fox, Maestro Brand Manager. For the brand's relaunch it offers a family of 5 pedals called The Original Collection. Each pedal offers a distinct, classic effect, including an homage to the original Fuzz-Tone. The full collection includes Ranger Overdrive, Invader Distortion, Discoverer Delay, and Comet Chorus.

"Few people outside of the guitar player community have heard of Maestro, but almost everyone on the planet has actually heard Maestro at some point," said Adam Wilson, D/CAL Founder. "From The Beatles to Hendrix, from U2 to The Cult, this brand has allowed artists to shape their signature sound and the history of rock and roll." The brand has an all-new look and feel, along with a new tagline and brand mnemonic developed by D/CAL.

With experience on brands like Jeep, Carhartt, and Miller High Life, D/CAL drew from their deep understanding of what it means to be an American Heritage Brand, but with a contemporary, culture-driven approach. "When we first played around with these pedals we immediately wanted to know what the sound from these could actually look like," said Ryan Maconochie, D/CAL Founder. Through D/CAL's unique process of engaging agency outsiders, they called upon Alex Braidwood, a Sound Artist and Creative Technologist from Iowa State University to develop an algorithm that allows each pedal to generate reactive artwork inspired by the graphics on each pedal. "The pedal graphics and whatever a guitarist plays are the inputs. The output is unique artwork that's different every time, but true to the behavior and unique tone of each pedal effect," added Alex Braidwood. To marry products, original music, and pedal art seamlessly D/CAL tapped KeyShot Studios.

The pedal art became the centerpiece of a global, multi-media campaign to support the relaunch of Maestro, consisting of several social videos, digital ads, featured content on Gibson's YouTube channel gibson.tv, a website experience, and print ads that will run in various endemic publications.

"This isn't just a launch of a new product line. We had to bring this brand back to life, so we worked closely with D/CAL to ensure this brand felt like it never went away. It's not everyday you get the chance to reboot a brand after a four-decade hiatus. Especially one that had such a defining impact on the culture at-large," said Sterling Doak, Gibson Marketing Director.

For Gibson press inquiries contact Libby Coffey: [email protected]

Founded in 2018 by Tony Hawk and agency veterans, Adam Wilson and Ryan Maconochie, D/CAL is a diverse strategic creative agency uniquely qualified to solve an equally diverse spectrum of brand marketing challenges — specializing in contemporary brand development, speed-of-culture creation, and brand activations. An inch wide with agency pros (20%). A mile deep with cultural provocateurs (80%). D/CAL's unique 80/20 composition allows them to partner on planning that doesn't smell like strategy, and invent things that look like less like advertising. Make brands happen. www.dcalagency.com

SOURCE D/CAL