News and events

In the driving seat

Published 19 April 2010

A Brighton graduate who sings in a local band has shot to national fame by co-writing and singing a Ford Focus TV advertisement.

Jade Pybus, 22, was chosen for the work after a producer friend recommended her to Ford's marketing agency, Wunderman.

Jade, who lives in Brighton, said: "I sent off some demos of my voice and they contacted me saying they had picked me.

"I could hardly believe it – it was amazing."

Jade graduated from the University of Brighton last summer in Performance and Visual Art (Music), and co-wrote the ad' music with Mark Delany of the music and SFX production company Racketbox.

Jade is a member of Raynon Breed, the Brighton-based 'enchanted folk pop' duo which gigs in Brighton and London. They released an EP in March.

Jade is working for a youth marketing and promotion company but has one eye on her music career: "I want to concentrate on doing more music for advertising and on continuing my own cross-disciplinary music and visual art work which I hope to exhibit in the future."

Jade's final degree performance focussed on exploring the sound of the human voice when the body is placed under different types of restraint, and she composed a work for projected image, multi-sound diffusion and live performance.

She said: "Whenever I work with sound, I am thinking of the visual implications and vice versa.

"Working to a brief on the Ford advertisement was challenging but I enjoyed using the versatility of my own voice to fit a mould that had already been created. It was a fantastic experience – and one I hope will lead to similar projects in the future."

David Harris, Wunderman's executive creative director and a former University of Brighton student, said: "We are constantly looking at ways we can discover fresh and exciting talent in all areas of the work we do at Wunderman.

"It's great that Jade was able to work with Racketbox and we are very pleased with the overall result."

Mark Delany, who runs Racketbox (www.racketbox.co.uk), said: "I work with many former University of Brighton students.

"Jade's beautiful voice and thought-provoking lyrics bring sincerity to the track."

The advertisement has not been aired on TV to date but to view it go to the university’s Faculty of Arts website.

To hear Ford music Jade co-wrote go to discoverfordfocus.co.uk and to see more of her work visit: