Daniel Caesar's fourth studio album, Son of Spergy, is one of the most personal records of his career. Named for his father's nickname, the album is a meditation on growing up, on faith, on becoming your father's son before you even realize it's happening.
A Relic of Yesteryear
When Republic Records worked with Lore House, the brief was clear: create something that could live inside the world of the album. Not just on top of it. What came out of that collaboration was a prop asthma inhaler, a quietly powerful object that speaks directly to Daniel Caesar's younger years, and to the fragility and resilience that Son of Spergy carries throughout.
Maximizing Impact: Every Detail Counts
Customizing a prop like this requires the details to do the heavy lifting, most of all in the detail. Trying to work around the concept without the actual object would create far more trouble than its worth, which in itself is its own obstacle.
Our challenge was to find a way to recreate a medically-associated object without the red tape of incidentally making one. Through much difficulty and customized small-batch operations, we were able to recreate a prop inhaler (based on the design of practice inhalers) that wasn't too far off from the actual item.
Medical inhalers are a well-known symbol of respiratory issues, often left behind as a person grows into stronger lungs and immune system. Such a significant object of the artist's childhood doesn't mean it only embodies that time. The Kabbalah design was added to the prop under the direction of the artist to convey more of his spirituality as he grew into his own, making this unique piece of merchandise a representation of his life as it goes on.
Making Something Real
This is the kind of campaign product that we exist to create. Not just apparel with a logo dropped on it, but a storied artifact that makes a fan feel like they've been let in on something real.
The best campaign merchandise tells you something about the artist that the music alone can't.
This prop inhaler says: this person was a real kid, in a real body, navigating a real personhood with ups and downs in every aspect. It says the album didn't pop out of thin air. It gives the people who love this album something to hold in their hands that says the same thing.