Beats by Dre’s Star Studded World Cup Ad

Image courtesy of www.theverge.com
Image courtesy of www.theverge.com

The latest ad for Beats by Dre, “The Game Before the Game,” is making a massive wave in the advertising pool. It’s impressive how many big name brands and celebrities are sprinkled throughout the five-minute ad. It begins with the Brazilian superstar, Neymar, getting amped up for the “big game.” We follow his path through a heartfelt conversation with his father overlaid with the rhythmic and driving beats of X Ambassador’s “Jungle.”

Beats is using this feat of moving advertising magic to make a big push for the World Cup. And why wouldn’t they? With close to a billion viewers, no other sporting event has a more devoted fan base with worldwide appeal.

Apple recently announced its purchase of Beats by Dre for $3 billion, and what better way to create the association between the iPhone brand and Beats’ than to launch an ad that will be seen around the world. Throughout the ad, you see Neymar listening to music on his Beats’ headset, which is plugged into his gold iPhone 5S. The Apple logo is purposely visible in the beginning of the ad to clearly say, “Hey! Use Beats’ with the iPhone!”

The Beats’ ad does an amazing job of weaving multiple stories together, which successfully integrates a little bit of everything in order to appeal to a massive audience. We see quick shots of sports celebrities, music icons, and beautiful Brazilian landscapes. Some of the music celebrities seen are Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Wayne. In the athlete department, we have a plethora of big-name celebrates including LeBron James, Bacary Sagna, Bastian Schewinsteiger, Blaise Matuidi and Robin van Persie. We also get to see soccer (or fútbol to the rest of the world) star, Thierry Henry, and tennis star, Serena Williams preparing to root for their teams. From nail color, underwear color, jerseys, and necklaces, we see each of the stars vying for their team of choice.

Beats’ chief marketing officer, Omar Johnson, made a calculated decision to align Beats new association with Apple to an epic sporting event. He stated, “We decided to do something that only Beats could do.” Beats revealed the pre-game ritual of a celebrity athlete, where everything captured was real.

By reverse engineering the ad, we can see the brands at play in this epic five-minute mini-movie. It is very interesting to consider the mix of brands that chose to come together to engage in a mutually beneficial relationship. Of course, Beats by Dre is the driver of the brand mobile, but let’s note the other major players in the ad. While Apple is subtly featured as a “supporting role” to Beats, it represents the symbiotic relationship Beats and Apple will soon engage in.

Another interesting branding choice that was noticed in the ad, was LeBron’s presence. What is the athlete doing in an Apple supported ad when he is a Samsung endorser? LeBron apparently reached out to Beats, requesting to be in the advertisement.

The Beats by Dre ad for the World Cup is nothing short of epic. It is an example of how to integrate multiple brands for a singular purpose. The ultimate win goes to Beats, being the primary focus of the ad, but any brand associated with the ad can benefit from the feelings people associate with the impactful advertisement.

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