Fender launched vintage-spec guitars by having Patti Smith declare Music Never Dies

Launch the American Vintage II series — electric guitars and basses recreating the brand's most iconic original models down to their exact specifications and aesthetics.

Sell exact reissues of its landmark instruments through the artists they shaped: icons across generations perform and reminisce, proving vintage sound never died.

Patti Smith lends her voice and an original score to the launch film 'Music Never Dies'; Brothers Osborne, James Bay and Jeff Beck star in a four-part video series of conversations, performances and covers, each vignette showcasing six guitars and basses built to every last original spec.

No sales or view figures in the source; Fender describes it as the most robust marketing campaign in its history.

Fender's American Vintage II series recreates the company's most iconic original electric guitars and basses 'through history down to their exact specifications and aesthetics as an homage to Fender's legacy'. With vintage-inspired trends at a high point among tastemakers and consumers, Fender did not have to invent desire — it had to channel it. The brand called this its most robust marketing campaign to date, built with creative agency McGarrah Jessee.

The idea was to let the instruments' resume speak through the people who play them. Legendary singer Patti Smith lent her voice and an original score to the launch film, 'Music Never Dies'. Boundary-breaking country duo Brothers Osborne, British singer-songwriter James Bay and legendary rock guitarist Jeff Beck each starred in vignettes discussing the influence the original instruments had on their musical journeys.

Each artist fronted part of a four-part video series showcasing six guitars and basses in the collection, mixing personal conversations, performances of original songs and covers from each American Vintage II decade that shaped the artists' sound — the demonstration being that models built to every last original spec still carry the music of today.

Vintage-inspired style was at a high point among tastemakers and consumers at launch.

The product itself is heritage — exact reissues — so nostalgia is the honest pitch, not an added gloss.

Artists from different decades prove the instruments' influence is continuous, not historical.

Fender wanted its most robust campaign ever to signal how strategically the line mattered.

For heritage products, the spec sheet is the story: let the artists your originals shaped make the case that faithful reissues carry the sound forward.

The source, published at launch in October 2022, describes the campaign roll-out but records no sales, streaming or view figures for the series or the guitars.