With streaming services on the rise – and Netflix performing better than ever – it appears that General Electric wants to get a piece of the action. However, it’s doing so in a way that not many people would expect – through breakdancing.
Before you go thinking about Krush Groove or Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, realize that GE is following a different rhythm with its product. Shake the Dust is more of a documentary piece, one that looks into the fad of breakdancing and the worldwide movement it created in the process, according to Reuters.
Rap star Nas has hopped on board the project as an executive producer, and GE is looking to debut it through video streaming devices like Roku and Apple TV, as well as other avenues. For the time being, it’s set to make its debut next week, on Christmas Eve, through music video platform Vevo.
The move enables GE to enter the sponsored content realm, as it purchased the rights to release and sponsor the movie for the first two weeks of its release. The company also plans to introduce other videos that tie into it, including an interview with Nas and a video featuring former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.
With the project, GE is looking to make a connection between neuroscience and music, something that will try to expand upon within the next coming year. With it, GE hopes to expand beyond the reach of typical television programming, according to Sam Olstein, director of innovation.
“We have been grappling with this challenge of how to reach the binge consumer that doesn’t watch TV,” he explained.
The sponsorship marks GE’s first foray into content such as this, and even though it isn’t long-term – the documentary’s creators will be able to seek out other distributors once the campaign concludes – it definitely marks a new step for them leading into the coming year.
It’s almost enough to make people want to do, ahem, the Robot.
