Beats by Dre. Sold to Apple for $3bn. Available in 130+ countries worldwide. Worn by global superstars. Mainstream. And a far cry from their category-defining launch in 2008.

Back then, the spirit of defiance was strong. NWA made Dre a pioneer of street journalism. And his passion for music as a cultural force led him to make a headphone that allowed people to hear what the artists hear. A brand rooted in black culture, with the voice of a generation at its helm.

Fast forward to 2020, and, with racial tensions mounting around the world, Beats called for a u-turn. A break from their immediate past, when they had fallen into the trap of convention, rolling out new headphones on the heads of stars with big advertising launches. A shift back to the brand’s defiant roots. Time to make a difference in culture once again.

We established three behaviours to drive the idea forward.

Be the change you want to see.

Actions first. Words second.

Find the issue. And flip it.

And we found our ideal moment to act, when a limited number of football fans were allowed to return to stadiums in December 2020 after a nine-month hiatus.

Football had seen a shocking rise in reports of racism pre-lockdown.

30% of fans had witnessed racist comments or chants at a football match.

71% had witnessed racist comments on social media directed at a footballer.

And 51% had witnessed racism directed at an opposing fan on social media.

F*ck that.

This was the moment to make a difference. To go back to their roots.

Our strategy: hijack the opening games to raise awareness of and get people talking about the issue of racism in the stands. “Bring back fans. Not racists.”

We had 72 hours from the announcement of restrictions lifting to fans returning to stadiums. And we packed a punch. Fast.

Newspapers: Turning Newspapers into Manifestos

A manifesto-style ad urged people to leave racism in the past. Newspapers delivered reach and impact in relevant contexts – editorial about the games, where fans were allowed.

Outdoor: Turning Stadiums into Screens ?

The same manifesto ad appeared as guerrilla projections outside stadiums pre-kick-off. The manifesto got into people’s newsfeeds, with fans taking photos and sharing them. We then amplified them across social channels. ?

Face Masks: Turning Fans into Media

We created a new media channel out of face masks, mandatory in all stadiums – something that had never been done before. We sourced, produced and distributed thousands of masks emblazoned with “Bring back fans. Not racists”. This drove earned media coverage with Sky and BT featuring our masks on their live TV broadcasts.

Our work raised public awareness of this important issue, reaching over 10 million football fans.

We were able to drive meaningful engagement with 12,000 football fans at stadiums over the weekend.

We stimulated player and team engagement. Players such as Alex Morgan and Callum Hudson Odoi and teams including Leeds and Tottenham all engaged with the content and shared across their social channels.

And finally, we got people talking. Word of mouth around Beats was up 38% over the campaign weekend, equating to 478,000 people talking about the brand. And mentions of Black Lives Matter and anti-racism increased 34% over the campaign versus the week prior.

“Bring back fans. Not racists.”

The system is f*cked. F*ck The System.