Apple Music’s BASE:LINE is the playlist of the NBA. So what does that sound like during an NBA season defined by a global pandemic and an uprising against racial injustice? Our brief challenged us to reflect the unprecedented circumstances of the 2020 season through a campaign for the playlist. The brief line was “The Soundtrack of the NBA.” Our objective was to drive awareness for BASE:LINE on Apple Music, while expressing solidarity and compassion in a deeply painful moment for the NBA community.

We needed to create a BASE:LINE playlist campaign that could reflect the 2020 NBA season. So we decided to champion one song from the playlist as a meaningful anthem in such a challenging time. We chose the track ‘Make it Home’ by Tobe Nwigwe as the foundation for the entire campaign. The song’s lyrics offered a message of hope and solidarity in the face of racial injustice. Then we simply crafted a court-like sanctuary as the stage for a choreographed performance of the song from Tobe and his team.

The brief line for the BASE:LINE campaign was “The Soundtrack of the NBA”. We were charged with introducing the world to a playlist that authentically reflects NBA culture, even during the most trying times for the league. The objective was to drive awareness for the BASE:LINE playlist of the NBA, and the music that defines it.

The campaign was executed in under two months. It aired on TV during the 2020 NBA finals to an audience of over seven million people. Then it continued to scale beyond broadcast into relevant TVO and digital placements through the end of the NBA season.

Ultimately, the campaign increased streams of ‘Make it home’ by 7,569% on Apple Music and the BASE:LINE Playlist. It also received accolades from the likes of Michael B. Jordan and Kerry Washington.