“Holding Out for a Hero”, reimagined as “I Need a Zevo” for the Super Bowl

The brief

For P&G Zevo’s Super Bowl campaign, we were tasked with reimagining the larger-than-life energy of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” as a high-octane custom parody, capturing the song’s iconic ’80s sound while bringing a fresh, playful personality to a spot about keeping homes bug-free.

The pitch

Within 24 hours of receiving the brief, we engaged our composer and producer Matt Beilis to turn around a fully realized demo for a competitive pitch. The rapid turnaround, strong creative execution, and close collaboration with the agency awarded us the project.

The voice

With the foundational direction in place, it was time to find the right voice. We tapped into our global talent network for targeted auditions, including UK-based vocalist Georgina “Georgie” Wells, a longtime collaborator whose powerhouse delivery and unmistakable rasp felt like a natural fit. There was just one catch: Georgie needed to sound convincingly American while also singing in Spanish for the campaign’s broader rollout. Rather than let that become a roadblock, we worked with Georgie to get Spanish-language samples in front of the agency, brought in a translator, and helped guide pronunciation and phrasing along the way. That extra care gave everyone confidence in the decision and let Georgie deliver on both fronts.

The turn

One of the biggest challenges came down to just a few seconds. The opening had to capture a homeowner’s frustration with an endless stream of bugs, then flip almost instantly into the playful, powerhouse energy of the “I Need a Zevo” chorus. Making that shift work was as much about Georgie’s performance as it was about Matt’s arrangement. She needed to find just the right amount of exasperation in those opening lines, giving Matt the raw material to build an effortless transition. We worked closely with Matt and Georgie to explore different approaches, refine the musical pacing, and find the right balance between tension and humor. Matt then carefully pieced together the strongest vocal takes, shaped the instrumentation, and fine-tuned the arrangement and mix until every beat landed. The result was a seamless tonal shift that made the chorus hit that much harder.

The result

From a 24-hour demo and competitive pitch win to international casting, multilingual vocals, and meticulously crafted final mixes of several unique versions, “I Need a Zevo” made its way to advertising’s biggest stage, becoming one of Score a Score’s four Super Bowl placements of the year.