How do you stand out with an ad campaign that is launching right after the Super Bowl, the biggest advertising event of them all? It's hard, but you could always turn to a few GOATs.
Beats, the Apple-owned audio brand, is launching its new flagship product on Tuesday: The Powerbeats Pro 2, and to help it do so it turned to NBA superstar LeBron James, MLS superstar Lionel Messi, and MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani, arguably the three best to ever play their respective sports.
"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to say we've got to make this a truly iconic campaign, something worthy of the product," Beats CMO Chris Thorne says in an interview. "At Beats we're always trying to do something unexpected, we're also trying to do things that haven't been done, even in marketing… all three of those guys have different shoe company deals. How many brands could actually bring them together in this way? I think Beats is one of the only ones able to do that. I think it was amazing we were able to pull it off."
The campaign, "Listen to Your Heart," is narrated by hip-hop star RZA, and features Powerbeats Pro 2's biggest new feature — its heart-rate monitor — prominently.
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"There are no tricks in this spot, when LeBron power dunks, when Ohtani rips a home run, when Messi blasts the shot into the net, the product is there," Thorne says. "When you have talent like like these guys, to not have them fully overshadow your product is really hard, and that's why the nice advantage we have is we have a product that fits into you. They can actually wear it. They can actually use it as they're doing what they do best."
RZA, meanwhile, provides the deep voiceover that connects the dots between the superstars, building momentum as the spot moves on. Thorne notes that, not only are the three athletes the best at their respective sports, but they also hail from completely different parts of the world. LeBron hails from Ohio, Messi is a hero in his native Argentina, and Ohtani is one of the biggest stars to ever come out of Japan.
For a global brand like Beats, that global scale is the icing on the cake, allowing it to adapt the campaign to meet where its target audience happens to be, and stand out amid the clutter.
"I can't remember a spot like this in in my career. I mean, you see big time soccer spots or football spots, and there are some amazing athletes put together. I don't think I've ever seen one go across sports, across geographies like this before," Thorne says, adding that he thinks the spot also deals with "the true challenge in marketing": Not letting the talent overshadow the product.
"It's either a brand advertisement or it's product marketing, but at Beats what we really try and do is get in the middle where it's brand-level storytelling, but the product is the hero in it, along with the talent," Thorne says. "It's not one or the other, and I think that's truly unique. So every every high-impact, fast motion you see with these athletes, they're wearing the headphone. It's measuring your heart rate. You hear that heartbeat. The product is front and center in the whole thing. I think we've all seen amazing Super Bowl ads. You walk away and you're talking about it the next day, but you're not actually sure what the product was that that was about."
But when you have three of the best to ever ball, with the product front and center, Beats thinks it has the formula to nail the shot.
"I've been a huge fan of the Powerbeats line since it first launched, and seeing it evolve into the new Powerbeats Pro 2 is incredible," James said in a statement. "Music has always been a key motivator in my training, and these earphones take an already iconic product to the next level."
"Even though we come from different sports, what connects us is our shared passion to perform at the highest level," added Messi. "This campaign reflects how true power comes from the heart—how we've all used that inner drive to fuel our journeys and push ourselves throughout our careers."
"Getting to be a part of this campaign with LeBron James and Lionel Messi is really special," Ohtani added. "Tapping in to your heart is important whether you're an athlete on the biggest stage or just getting started and I'm excited to partner with Beats to help deliver that message."
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