Squarespace has enlisted soul star Leon Bridges to helm its ad campaign during the Grammys this Sunday.
The Grammy-nominated artist, whose debut album Rolling Stone said "sounded like the second coming of Sam Cooke," worked as dishwasher in Fort Worth, Texas while attending open mic nights before the Internet took notice of his talent and made him a star.
In a low-key commercial set to air during the awards show, Squarespace traces that trajectory with Bridges' "Smooth Sailin'" fluctuating in sound quality as the singer upgrades venues from the darkened kitchen of a restaurant to a tour bus.
Bridges is up for best R&B album at this year's Grammys.
The website building company plans to show a 30-second version of the ad on the national stage and the minute-long commercial in select regional markets. It's also planning to release a longer documentary called "This is Home," which follows Bridges' return home after a year of touring.
The ad will be one of Squarespace's first ad with Austin-based creative agency Preacher. Squarespace has been focusing on tailoring ads to "cultural tentpoles" like the Super Bowl, Oscars and Grammys.
"We're tailoring creative specific to each of those events and it'll be the first year we've ever done that," Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena said in an interview.