Entertainment Lions For Music > Excellence in Music

YOU LOVE ME

TRANSLATION, New York / BEATS BY DRE / 2021

Awards:

Shortlisted Cannes Lions
CampaignCampaign(opens in a new tab)
Case Film
Presentation Image

Overview

Credits

Overview

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

In building this homage to Black defiance, the sonic narrative was driven by the reimagining and referencing of familiar components in Black music. The first act is shaped by solace and repetition, embodied in a singular driving baseline that is carried throughout the piece – signifying the repetitive nature constituting Black humanity. This is juxtaposed with otherworldly synthesizers that demonstrate the alien relationship Black America must endure in their homeland. In the second act these components are built on by the commanding signal of 808 drums that signify the defiant sound of booming bass. This moment is separated by a

Background

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.

Describe the creative idea

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.

Describe the strategy

In building this homage to Black defiance, the sonic narrative was driven by the reimagining and referencing of familiar components in Black music. The first act is shaped by solace and repetition, embodied a singular driving baseline that is carried throughout – signifying the repetitive nature constituting Black humanity. This is juxtaposed with otherworldly synthesizers that demonstrate the alien relationship Black America must endure in their homeland. In the second act these components are built on by the commanding signal of 808 drums that signify the defiant sound of booming bass. This moment is separated by a moment of clarity where the tradition of a Black church choir sets the stage for a near biblical ascension by the characters in the final act. The final act is then defined by a chorus of triumphant horns and an increase in tempo where all of the musical elements in

Describe the execution

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.

Describe the outcome

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.

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