R/GA launched three new spots for fashion headphone brand Beats by Dre, focusing on three star rugby players — Chris Robshaw, Riche McCaw and Wesley Fofana — ahead of this weekend’s Rugby World Cup.
In many ways, the three spots mark a continuation of the forumula R/GA and Beats have developed in the past. All three shots offer glimpses of their star athlete’s pasts, show them shaking off the naysayers and training with Beats. Only one of the three spots, however, goes the brand’s usual route of featuring a contemporary song available for download; the spot starring Robshaw highlights “Jerusalem” by Jacob Collier. The campaign also marks a departure for the brand, as it is the first time it has championed a sport not popular in North America. That may be something we can expect more of in the future, as Beats chief marketing officer Omar Johnson told Fast Company that the brand will be looking at cricket in the near future.
While the campaign is clearly well-timed in anticipation of the Rugby World Cup, there was one bit of unforeseeable unfortunate timing: Wesley Fofana suffered an injury and will miss France’s opening match. Still, that should hardly matter to French rugby fans.