Making of the NIVEA Creme Brand Song
 

„I‘ll Take Care of You“, the heartwarming song we have written for NIVEA has travelled the world for several years. Now it has finally arrived in Germany with one of our all-time favorite NIVEA ads: „Mama“. The song was recorded at EastWest Studios in L.A. and at nhb studios in Düsseldorf and Hamburg.

„We’re especially happy, that the song is a worldwide success. It has been translated into 10 languages and works all over the world. This shows, that it conveys exactly, what NIVEA stands for“, says Jörg Grünwald, VP Marketing Germany & Coordination Europe at Beiersdorf.
In 2016 the NIVEA Creme team flew in the singer Baraka May and the nhb crew for an internal event. In a tailor-made workshop the team of international brand managers created their very own version of the song. The event was a hit and soon afterwards, the music spread like wildfire.

Malaysia was the first country to request a version in their native language. „I remember, we were a little wary at first. When you write such a song, you spend a lot of time on crafting the lyrics and choosing the metaphors – not only for the meaning but also for the musical sound of the words“ say Aleks Rynkowski and André Sudradjat. The two composers/producers are the minds and hands behind the track. „It‘s hard to ,translate‘ that kind of a song. But it worked! We invested a lot of energy into getting the story right and the NIVEA colleagues in Malaysia found a great singer. When we mixed the new vocals in our studio we looked at each other and thought: ,Our song works. Even in Malay.‘ Amazing!“
South Korea followed soon, Vietnam and China too. And when the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Scandinavia asked for localized versions, it was clear that the song was becoming a global phenomenon. Canada and Latin America also chimed in and in the end even the iTunes release became multi-lingual. A truly international project.

Behind the Sounds of Care

The songwriting for „I‘ll Take Care of You“ wasn‘t the easiest task, though. When presenting the project during Germany‘s renowned Reeperbahn Festival Conference 2017, nhb corporate sound strategist Cornelius Stiegler pointed out: „This is one of the most delicate works we‘ve done for NIVEA so far. It is the story of seeing your child grow up, fall down and try again. It is about life with all the ups and downs, all the pain and all the joy and pride, that only parents know."

The team at nhb was eager to rise to the challenge of telling this story in music and lyrics – and finding the right singer. Even if that called for some creative search methods. „We were actually looking for a different style of singer first and posted some comments various music platforms – even on a music gear platform, I think!“ André recalls. „Somehow, someone mentioned Baraka‘s name and as it turned out, she was perfect for what we needed in the end. She is such a pro and her voice just gave the song great heart and soul.“
As it turned out, Baraka May could connect with the story instantly: „I‘m from a huge family. I have seven siblings, and I‘m the third. With five younger siblings, I immediately connected to so many experiences as a big sister, when my little brother scraped his knee or my little sister was crying because she was bullied.“

But it didn‘t end there. „It was great to watch our team work with her in L.A. on the vocals and the expressions“ Stiegler recalls. „Once it was confirmed by the client that she would be our final singer, we flew her to Hamburg for the final recordings. The goal was to get all the emotions into the lyrics in English, French and Spanish. Lucky for us, Baraka is a real language talent. I mean, she can sing in Klingon! We had native speakers in the studio and she nailed it in every version. No matter what language – her singing takes you on a journey and leaves you with that promise of a mother: I‘ll take care of you.“

It is this promise that the NIVEA Creme Brand Song stands for. And it‘s also the story of the commercial shot by directors Dorian Lebherz und Daniel Titz, featuring the single most important word between a mother and her child: Mama.

song info:
„I‘ll Take Care Of You“ by Baraka May
composed & produced by NHB.MUSIC