Beats by Dre "Re-Imagined" (2014)

After making his name in his home state, Ohio, LeBron James is returning to play for Cleveland. For those who don't follow basketball, when he left Cleveland to play for Miami there was a lot of bitterness in Ohio from the fans who felt he was one of theirs. From someone like me who grew up in the rust belt, I understand what that betrayal must have felt like. There is a certain irrationality that comes along with hero worship. LeBron's return is big news to many, not only for those who consider him one of the greatest basketball players of all time but for those in an economically depressed area of the country who felt they lost the one thing left to be proud of.
This spot takes a deep emotional look at that return, showing LeBron's roots, the influences that his mother and growing up in Akron had on him, and the rise to fame that earned him top status. It's beautifully shot and emotionally gripping, including the great soundtrack. The flashbacks are done quite well, too. This does a great job of feeding into the hero worship, and sets up LeBron's return as being nothing short of powerful.
I have two critiques though: I wish there were another way to get across the pensive moments other than showing the athletes exercising. We've seen that with Derrick Rose already and that's just one off the top of my head. The only time we see athletes being pensive in spots is when they're working out, or in the locker room, pre-game.
My larger issue though is this: With the exception to the fact we know a lot of athletes are wearing Beats in real life, you could swap Beats for Skullcandy or Urbanears or Sony or any other type of headphones in this spot because that's how thin the tie is to the product. In other words, this is a great and very powerful ad for LeBron, but Beats really is secondary.

Client: Beats By Dre
Agency: R/GA
Campaign: Powerbeats2 Wireless
Length: Long form: :60, :30, :20, :15, :10
Spot: PowerBeats2 Wireless – “Re-Established 2014”
Client: Beats by Dre
Agency: R/GA LA

Beats By Dr. Dre
CMO, Head of Global Marketing: Omar Johnson
VP, Global Marketing: Jason White
Senior Marketing Director: Kevin O’Connor
Director of Advertising: Diallo Marvel
Executive Producer: Kerli Teo
Producer: Ana Julfayan
Post Production Producer: Cindy Chapman

Agency: R/GA LA
Creative Director: William Esparza
Creative Director: Zach Hilder
Assoc. Creative Director: Lauren Smith
Sr. Art Director: Rance Randle
Jr. Copywriter: Kervins Chauvet
Global Account Director: James Stephens
Account Supervisor: Marco Koenig

Production
Production Co.: Sword Fight
Director: Nabil Elderkin
1st AD: Giovanni Cotto-Ortiz
Director of Photography: Danny Hiele
Executive Producers: Justin Benoliel

Editorial
Editorial Company: Spot Welders
Editor: Leo Scott
Executive Producer: Carolina Sanborn
Post Producer: Brittany Neff
Assistant Editors: JC Nunez

VFX
VFX Company: Shipping + Handling
VFX Supervisor/Lead Flame Artist: Casey Price
Executive Producer: Brigitte Stanovick
Flame Assistant: Lauren Riedel

Sound Design
Sound Company: 740 Sound
Sound Artist: Rommel Molina

Sound Mix
Sound Company: Innercircle Sound
Sound Engineer: Josh Eichenbaum