Beats by Dre felt duty-bound to speak on behalf of Black people because Black people had historically spoken on behalf of the brand. For Beats, this was more than a campaign or a film. You Love Me was a declaration and call to action for a long-term commitment to Black youth.

At a time when many brands remained silent, Beats aimed to amplify the voices of Black youth. Channeling the sounds of Black defiance that shape today’s popular culture was imperative. In a moment when civil unrest and the sound of the BLM movement were at its peak, this was achieved by collaborating with an artist whose signature sound was built on channeling this sonic Blackness.

You Love Me unpacked a hypocrisy that exists across the world at large. Historically, brands and corporations have profited off of Black culture but continue to fail at showing the same love for the human lives behind it.

The short film aimed to speak directly to the root of this issue, by begging the question, “You love Black culture, but do you love me?” The narrative was designed to speak from inside the Black community, outwards, to ensure it resonated with the larger-than-life celebrity talent – and also empower everyday viewers to feel heard in the message and be seen on-screen.

While the idea was birthed from the struggles happening in America, the message spread across the globe in a way that showed how this struggle exists beyond geographic boundaries.

Beats’ primary audience has been and will always be Black youth – an audience that rarely receives acknowledgment from the many brands that capitalize off of their cultural contributions. The approach focused on amplifying the voices of Black youth, by aligning their voices alongside Black celebrities to demonstrate that fame and fortune don’t determine the value of someone’s life.

Traditional media efforts were centered around NBA and NFL broadcasts. Chosen moments included the NBA Draft and then focused on high-profile Thanksgiving Day NFL games.

Knowing the powerful message contained within the 2-minute long-form video, digital media focused on generating as many views as possible on YouTube. The goal was to reach key audiences across this platform as well as on Twitter. The Twitter effort was synced to key TV pulses, allowing capture of second-screeners. The Twitter creative was a 30-second clip introducing the message's thesis to TV viewers using Twitter during these moments, encouraging them to watch the full video on YouTube.

Beats wanted to drive 20 million views – the campaign, in which paid media drove more than 99% of views, delivered 22 million. The video currently ranks as Beats’ 5th most-watched video in its channel – an impressive accomplishment given the brand’s history of captivating video content. In addition, the video also boasts the 4th-highest average view duration.

On average, viewers watched 75% of the video, indicating that the video’s engaging storytelling approach and the media strategy’s targeting reached the right audiences. In fact, the view duration beat TrueView benchmarks by 27%. These metrics showed that the target audiences were responding positively to the video, and really listening to the truths shared by it.