In a competitive wireless speaker category, Beats By Dr. Dre needed to stand out from the crowd and prove that their small Pill speakers were remarkably loud. Small in size, but undeniably vocal, the Pill was a lot like Beats’ young consumer. So Beats created tiny, trash-talking characters with big personalities–and even bigger mouths–to act as official 'spokesproducts'.

Through the campaign and tagline, Small But Loud, Beats discovered a powerful voice that resonated more deeply with their target than common marketing-speak, fostering more authentic, more personal connections with the brand than ever before.

Launching in September 2013, the Pills burst onto the scene with a takeover of the MTV Video Music Awards, including contextual online and social media efforts and an instantly-televised reaction to perhaps the most talked-about performance of the year: Miley Cyrus & Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines duet.

The Pills continued beyond the world of music to give Beats a voice in every important pop culture conversation that followed, with timely TV content, contextualized online media, hyper-local out-of-home, and custom-rendered art for instant social media content.

The Pills hosted their own live-action celebrity talk show online, animated instantly using a gaming console and the Unity animation engine. The Small But Loud Show was produced with local talent in Beats’ major markets to ensure cultural relevance at a global scale.

And Beats even designed real Pill character holders so fans could bring their favorites home as a cradle for their Pill speakers.

At a time when loud culture, loud celebrities, and even loud friends make it hard for any one voice to be heard, the Beats Pills shouted their way into the conversation to the tune of 68.2 million social impressions and 2.2 million social engagements by the end of 2013. Tweets expressing desire for a Beats Pill rose 42%, and Thanksgiving sales rose 222% year-over-year, driving Beats sales to #1 in the wireless speaker category.