Eminem Kicks Off 2011 Grammy Commercials

Eminem had a remarkable music career during 2010 so it comes as no surprise that the Recording Academy would tap the Detroit rapper to spearhead the organization's Music Is Life Is Music social-networking and promotional campaign.

In the 30-second ad, viewers are taken on an illustrated journey through Marshall Mathers' life. Traveling through the 'Recovery' rhymer's 8 Mile trailer park, an announcer proclaims, "Music is a last chance, a last hope, a last shot. Music is turning demons into demos into multiplatinum monsters." Images of a notebook with scribbled lyrics appear as Em's 'Not Afraid' serves as the spot's soundtrack. Even the darker aspects of the rapper's days are highlighted, with newspaper clippings detailing his arrests and divorce popping up throughout.

Perhaps one of the more touching aspects of the clip is the tribute to Eminem's fallen friends, Ronnie and Proof, whose graves are digitally captured in a cemetery.

"The camera kind of literally walks through his life," said Bob Rayburn, creative director of ad agency TBWAChiatDay. "It was important to capture his struggle."

Eminem's commercial is the first of three that will be airing in support of the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The clips, which will appear both on TV and social networking platforms, also allow viewers to "map out" their musical journey.

"The app and our micro-site allow you to map your musical journey and to note key musical milestones in your life, and you can instantly share it with your entire social network," Evan Greene, chief marketing officer of the Recording Academy, said. "It gets in front of human behavior, because people are using geo-location to tag where they are and to tag where they're going, and we align that with music.

"So if you're in Bloomfield, Indiana, you can look up on our website's map which of your friends or favorite artists have dropped or tagged pieces of music that are important to their journey. You can do it on your app or go to the Music Is Life Is Music website."

Visit the Music Is Life Is Music website here.

Watch Eminem's 53rd Annual Grammy Commercial