MailChimp has a new marketing campaign where, in a series of websites and videos, they offer “experiences” that rhyme with the company’s name. As it turns out, VeilHymn—the new duo of Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) and Bryndon Cook (Starchild & The New Romantic)—is part of that campaign. (Cook is a former Pitchfork intern.) A MailChimp press release names VeilHymn alongside “MailShrimp,” “KaleLimp,” “WhaleSynth,” and more as “strategically created executions targeting digital subculture.” The duo were prompted by the company to give the project a name that rhymed with MailChimp. A representative for Hynes confirms that their single “Hymn” was created exclusively for the company. The song’s interactive video on VeilHymn.com redirects to other websites created for the MailChimp campaign.
While an Advertising Age post claimed that the duo was “created” by MailChimp and Droga5 (the ad agency behind the campaign), Hynes’ representative called that wording inaccurate and clarified that Hynes and Cook have been collaborating on music “for years.” Hynes and Cook themselves declined to comment on the story to Pitchfork.
VeilHymn and the other experiences were launched, a MailChimp press release says, “with the intention that people may organically come across one or two parts of the campaign, piquing their interest enough that they would want to dig deeper.” When the song surfaced last month, the “Hymn” SoundCloud bio and premiere post did not address the project’s affiliation with MailChimp. The song’s YouTube description and a press release for the “Hymn” video, sent to Pitchfork on February 8, didn’t mention the company. “With all of the alter egos, we wanted to play it cool at first and let them each create intrigue and interest on their own,” Mark DiCristina, the senior director of brand marketing at MailChimp, told Pitchfork via email.
“Hymn” is available to purchase as a single via Domino Records.
