Rapper 2 Chainz Fronts New MLS ‘Our Soccer’ Brand Campaign Ahead Of 2018 Season Kick-Off

Ahead of the return of Major League Soccer (MLS), the new season kicks-off on 3 March, the league launched a new 360-degree brand campaign to tell the story of the self-described ‘most ascendant, progressive and diverse’ sports league in the US and Canada’.

The new 2018 season ‘Our Soccer’ initiative, developed in harness with new creative partners Cornerstone Agency and football magazine The Fader, opens with creative fronted by Grammy-nominated rapper 2 Chainz.

2 Chainz features in the campaign’s hero launch commercial, a 30-second national TV spot featuring scenes of various cities, stadiums, and communities of soccer fans and starring MLS Cup champion and most valuable player Jozy Altidore.

The Atlanta rapper ambassador (a fan of his local team Atlanta United), narrates this spearhead rights-holder anthem stating: “Our soccer is our stage. Our voice is loud in every language. Our city represents our squad. Our hustle has no equal. You see it. The sound. The fury. Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Our Soccer.”

2 Chainz also amplifies the campaign on his own social channels.

You see it. #MLSisBack #OurSoccer @MLS pic.twitter.com/g1pmzwaVN6

— Tity Boi (2 Chainz) (@2chainz) February 21, 2018

The campaign will evolve and expand through the year as it continues telling the stories of those real fans and players as the season progresses in response to games, performances and results.

Speaking about the new brand-focused spot, MLS VP of brand and marketing David Bruce said: “Culture is a differentiator for our brand. We believe the movement and energy in MLS, driven by our fans and Clubs, is key to this season’s positioning. Our League and brand is tied to culture in ways that are unique to MLS and soccer and that comes to life in our local communities. We are building rituals and traditions all across Canada and the US that are enabling our fans to form deep emotional bonds with our clubs.”

“Our League’s story can travel far and wide via content. We are working hard to make sure our supporters have a chance to experience and inform that story. We want to work with influencers and creators from across the spectrum of popular culture, from music to fashion to art to film, to tell our story in new and innovative ways,” states Bruce.

“Soccer is a sport that belongs to everyone. MLS is a brand that is open to everyone. We’ll use that platform to tell deep stories about the fans, players and cities that make MLS unique,” adds Trevor Eld, chief creative officer at Cornerstone and The Fader.

Cornerstone, which has a sports heritage that includes work for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks on its 50^th anniversary, considers itself an agency rooted in sports culture.

“Cornerstone and The Fader started inside culture, covering a mix of artists and stories no one else did. Our audience is always growing because we’re authentic and true to culture,” adds Eld to outline the agency’s alignment with the MLS brand.

Comment:

The trend for football rights-holders to launch campaigns fronted by rappers and musicians continues unchecked as more and more sports properties and brands roll out work that fuses with music, fashion and culture.

Just last week we saw Puma trumpet its new AC Milan kit partnership deal through a campaign led by Milan based rapper Ernia (see case study).

We feel this campaign seems big, bold, authentic and expressive and the tone of the work is confident as it aims to reflect and represent a strident soccer league.

Some off the MLS statistics may help explain this sense of self-confidence.

The league, which began in 1996, notched up a record attendance during the 2017 season with 8.27m fans coming through the turnstiles of its 20 team stadiums

The season’s record average crowd of 22,113 was the highest average attendance in league history.

Indeed, MLS now ranks as the third-highest average attendance among all US professional leagues: behind the NFL and MLB, but ahead of the NBA and the NHL.

However, broadcast deals aren’t as big as the other so called Big 4 leagues and the MLS has yet to actually make a profit.

‘Our Soccer’ marks the Cornerstone Agency’s first campaign for MLS.

In previous years, the league worked with Sid Lee and Brooklyn Brothers on campaigns that were more game and action-driven (see our 2016 ‘Stand As One’ case study).

In switching creative agency to Cornerstone (which shares a home with publication The Fader) the aim was to team up with a create team that shared the MLS’ own culture.

Bruce said the agency offers great storytelling: “This year, when it came to an agency, we looked for something a little different. We wanted an agency that could help us celebrate what makes our version of the global game different. That is the unique North American soccer culture that exists in MLS.”

February also sees the MLS clubs themselves begin breaking their own campaigns ahead of kick-off.

Some of the notable work includes an ‘All For One’ championship special teaser presented by Bell from current champs Toronto FC which appeared to promote a 27 February 30-minute club focused special programme on TSN (ahead of the channel’s live coverage of the 2nd leg of the Champions League Round of 16).