Alto & Life 360 turns mums’ worst fears into a musical

Few emotions are as universal, or as complicated, as the worry that comes with loving someone deeply. They can be tragic. Or they star in a bold, bloody, and darkly hilarious new mini-musical.

Alto New York has added a musical, I Think of You (Dying), to its Family-Proof Your Family brand platform for family location safety app, Life360, following the darkly comic spots – Coat, Coffin, and Curfew.

Because the truth is that loving someone means worrying about them constantly. In fact, a CBS News report found that moms and dads collectively spend a full 37 hours per week stressing about their family’s safety. Not only that, but nearly 90% of parents fear for their children’s safety whenever they’re physically separated (2024 State of Parenting Survey), and 60% report insomnia from worrying about their kids (CBS News).

I Think of You (Dying) dives headfirst into one of the rawest truths about love: the deeper you care, the more you worry. For parents, that can often lead to vivid, intrusive, and often irrational thoughts, the kind you don’t want to say out loud, but can’t stop imagining. In Alto’s long-form musical, those fears take centre stage through a hilariously unfiltered musical number sung by a mum to her daughter.

The campaign is conceived strategically with social media in mind, TikTok, in particular. To spread the word and spark online conversations, Alto is partnering with specific social media influencers most likely to relate to the sentiment of the campaign — mums. Working with well-known TikTokers such as Jane Park and Sarah Jane Underwood, the campaign uses the song from I Think of You (Dying) as a jumping off point, before each mum inserts the most outrageous way they’ve envisioned their own child meeting an untimely demise, encouraging parents everywhere to realise they’re not alone in these fears.

The work was developed in partnership with Feral Child (Passion Pictures) as well as Steve Ayson (MJZ) and songwriter Nick Lutsko, who is most notable for his work with the cult animated series, Ren & Stimpy. The song will also be featured on the artist’s Spotify page. Three shorter versions of the musical, including audio spots accompany the campaign for paid media.

The brand platform, Family-Proof Your Family, that launched in October last year, is built around around Life 360’s safety features such as Crash Detection, which uses phone sensors to identify car accidents and automatically notifies Circle members and emergency contacts, and SOS Alerts, which allow users to manually initiate an alert, sending a message to designated contacts and potentially dispatching emergency services.

The full US campaign covers broadcast, streaming, social, and digital.

Credits:
Client: Life360
CMO: Mike Zeman
VP of Brand & Creative: Jon Troutman
Senior Creative Director: Spencer Hansen
Product Marketing Director: Katy Walden
Director of Brand Content: Brittany Lamp
Senior Creative Project Manager: Kelly Hamilton

Agency: Alto New York
Chief Creative Officer & Founder: Hannes Ciatti
Managing Partner, Entertainment + Production: Matt Bonin
Managing Partner: Ed Rogers
Head of Strategy & Partner: Tara Fray
Strategy Director: Tom Naughton
Executive Creative Director: Jason Bagley
Creative Directors: Darcie Burrell & Lawrence Mellili
Executive Producer, Film: Josh Litwhiler
Head of Brands: Shannon Coletti

Film Production Company: MJZ
Director: Steve Ayson
Executive Producer: Noah Goldsmith
Producer: Martha E. Davis
Director of Photography: Larkin Seiple
Production Designer: JC Molina

Music Production: Walker
Composer: Nick Lutsko Walker
Managing Director: Sara Matarazzo
Executive Producer: Dottie Scharr

Editing: Trim
Editor: Tom Lindsay
Executive Producer: Polly Kemp
Assistant Editor: Milo Benett