Four days ahead of his blockbuster bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr, Beats is leveraging the fight and its endorser deal with Conner McGregor with a new campaign aiming to show that the UFC star is #AboveTheNoise.
The campaign is led by a hero film, Conor McGregor: Dedicated #AboveTheNoise, featuring the reigning UFC lightweight champion preparing for a training session while a young lad called Liam readies himself for a fight at a boxing gym in Ireland.
Inspired by McGregor’s home nation Ireeland, shot on the streets of Dublin and wrapped in the gold, green and white tricolor flag, this is a classic Beats ad blending earthy visuals and emotional music (the soundtrack is ‘Juicy’ by Notorious BIG and is pictured as being listen to by McGregor through a custom pair of ‘Notorious’ Studio Wireless headphones) to inspire a new generation.
The three-minute film, launched on 23 August, includes the copy line: “The world is a noisy place. Whether you’re chasing boxing history or the thing that matters most to you, it’s important to block out the distractions and remember how you got here. #AboveTheNoise”.
As well as YouTube, the film is amplified across all the usual Beats channels and platforms – including Twitter,
Dedicated. @TheNotoriousMMA #AboveTheNoise. pic.twitter.com/8nTDRuyUCS
— Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre) August 23, 2017
and Facebook.
The campaign plays on McGregor’s nickname ‘Notorious’# and links it to the product – a tactic that continues through the parallel social media strand of the campaign.
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The spot notched up 4.7m views on the Beats Facebook page and 339,461 on YouTube in the first 12 hours after it was posted.
The message behind this spot is a ludicrous as the hype surrounding the fight itself: after all the idea that McGregor is ‘above the noise’ is hard to swallow – he is the noise.
It was back in May that Beats by Dre signed UFC star Conor McGregor to a new endorsement deal as the brand looks beyond traditional sports ambassadors to tie-up with influencers who can help that brand move deeper into popular culture
The UFC lightweight champion announced the partnership on his Instagram feed and Facebook page – saying that it was an honour to join the beats endorser team honour and thanking those involved in the partnership (including Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine, U2’s Bono and hip-hop artist Drake).
Humble beginnings. Dangerous intentions. Welcome to the Beats Fam, Champ @TheNotoriousMMA. #BEHEARD pic.twitter.com/7gvbbeLdr1
— Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre) May 26, 2017
McGregor’s marketing appeal has grown exponentially since his UFC debut in 2013 and Beats’ partnership with the 28-year-old mixed martial artist leveraged an opportune period as McGregor’s rteach and profile peaks around his mega-bucks, mega-hype fight with Floyd Mayweather.
In fact, he recently 4th on SportsPro’s annual list of the world’s 50 most marketable athletes and was also named one of the 100 most influential people in 2017 by none other than Time magazine.
As well as Beats, his other sponsors range from Monster Energy (see case study), UFC kit supplier Reebok, Bud Light,
and Betsafe (see case study).
In the past he has also worked with brands such as Rolls Royce (which gave him a custom car last year) and he even made an appearance blockbuster videogame series Call of Duty.
McGregor joins Beats rapidly growing stable of top athlete ambassadors (as illustrated in its December 2016 ‘Be Heard campaign – see case study), who include fellow fighter Anthony Joshua (see case study), several soccer stars (see pour case study on its ‘Euro 2016’ campaign and its ‘World Cup 2014’ campaigns) led by Neymar Jr,
The biggest dreams burn brightest in the city of light.#NeymarJr @PSG_inside #ICICESTPARIS pic.twitter.com/0lGh5vAZdi
— Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre) August 3, 2017
as well as basketball’s LeBron James (see case study 1 and case study 2) and Dramond Green (see case study), plus NFL stars such as Colin Kapernick,
tennis legend Serena Williams (see case study) and rugby players Chris Robshaw and Richie McGraw (see case study).
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