Nature Valley’s campaign idea was to invite people to have a more meaningful and deeper connection to nature. To tell a genuine story, we partnered with blind adventurer and nature advocate, Erik Weihenmayer. Erik has been blind since 13 and has achieved great accomplishments, such as climbing the seven peaks, including mount Everest.

In the spot we learn how Erik experiences nature through seeing and his interaction with his real daughter Emma. We see him teaching her to stop for a moment and take in nature with more than just what she sees, contemplating and enjoying the outdoors in a more meaningful way.

The score for Nature Valley’s commercial with blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer features a piano and a 15-piece string section, along with some unique textures like an acoustic guitar (played with an EBow), marimba and vibraphone. Inspired by Erk’s encouragement to see “with a different set of eyes,” We wanted to also invite the listener to hear with a different set of ears by enhancing the traditional instrumentation with sonic textures that give new life to familiar sounds – the wooden cadence of the marimba blend with the metallic piano, the glassy resonance of the vibraphone and EBow on an acoustic guitar blend with the string melody. As there is beauty both in the details of a tree and the expanse of mountain top, we intended the score to musically capture the simple and the grand, starting from a single note and building to a full collage of textures.