This is the music video for Depeche Mode‘s “Wrong,” from their upcoming album, “Sounds Of The Universe.” The video was directed by Patrick Daughters, a director I respect greatly for his work on Feist’s music video for 1234.

There are a few things that strike me about this video. First and foremost is the how original the concept is. It’s a breath of fresh air. Not being a Depeche Mode fan, and not knowing initially that it was directed by Daughters, I was still captivated by it. I needed to watch the entire video. It drew me in and I loved that it did. And it didn’t disappoint. It was a great, great story, start to finish. I can only hope to be as effective a storyteller some day.

Second, and perhaps more impressively, is that this wasn’t an ego-trip for the band. And, in fact, if it was, if the band had demanded to be featured more prominently in it, or if they had demanded to portray the characters in the video, the video would have suffered. It wouldn’t have been as compelling to watch, fewer people would have watched it, and it would have been a less effective marketing tool for them and their new album. Which is crazy – it was a better creative decision and business decision for them to detach themselves from the video and allow it to stand on its own as a piece of art.

Third, and perhaps more boringly, was the overall production quality – great lighting, great camera work, great direction, great acting. Very impressive all around.

Enjoy:

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