With the NBA season in the books, summertime meant one thing in the sports world: LeBron James’ free agency decision. From billboards across the country begging James to sign with different teams to active NBA players wooing James on Twitter, every team was making its case for James, while fans and media braced for impact. However, one city was dreading LeBron’s decision: Cleveland. Why? Because LeBron and Cleveland have a long, heartbreaking history. An Ohio native, LeBron was drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers when he first joined the NBA. After many years together, he became the most sought after free agent and moved to Miami, but eventually returned to Cleveland in 2016 and delivered the teams first-ever NBA Championship. Then, eight years after he first left Cleveland for Miami, Cavaliers fans were anxious—bracing themselves for another heartburn-inducing departure as rumors swirled that LeBron would join the LA Lakers.

Let’s place TUMS at the center of the summer’s biggest sports story by offering stressed-out Cleveland fans heartburn relief should LeBron James take his talents to another team—by providing free TUMS before Cleveland’s first home game of the 2018 season.

TUMS is well-known for its history of heartburn relief. In order to remain culturally relevant, TUMS identified a white space to serve as a solution to stressful, heartburn-inducing moments. By speaking to a broad audience during their heartbreaking (and heartburning) moments, the brand carved out an emotional role in culture that still stays true to its long heritage of heartburn relief. Additionally, in an effort to avoid any IP infringement, TUMS found a way to make the announcement even without any mention of LeBron, the Cavaliers, or the NBA.

TUMS saw that the city of Cleveland was experiencing that dreaded burn, and needed relief. As everyone was debating what LeBron’s decision would be, we made a public offer of free antacids to everyone attending the first Cavaliers’ home game if he took his talents elsewhere.

Our announcement sparked a national media conversation across a variety of outlets, who applauded our brand’s unique offer.

When LeBron ultimately left the Cavaliers (again), we delivered on our promise. On October 21, we kicked off sampling before the first home game. Brand ambassadors, decked out in TUMS apparel, greeted fans outside the stadium with heartburn relief as they prepared for the first game without their star player. Overall, the feedback from Cleveland was extremely positive. Fans expressed how much they loved TUMS and were thankful that we followed through on the promise. By 6:30pm—well before tipoff—nearly all 13,200 samples were gone!