College students in California created and produced two new spots for Beats by Dre as part of an eight-week program called “Beats Academy.” 

Fourteen students were divided into two groups of seven to create spots featuring athletes Rickea Jackson of the Los Angeles Sparks and Brenden Rice (who is Jerry Rice’s son) of the Los Angeles Chargers, inspired by the athletes’ personalities. 

The students were divided into three tracks—Content, Music and Customs—to create the campaign films from start to finish. Music students created the soundtracks, and Customs students designed custom headphones inspired by the athletes featured in the spots. The Content students worked on creative, production and film. 

The spots, made with mentors from agency Translation, were shared online. This year was the second year for Beats Academy, which launched to highlight talent in the L.A. community. The program is available to both two and four-year students.

“[In my group], we noticed how much Rickea, even from her Instagram alone, loves fashion,” Lily Burke, a film student at Chapman University and a Beats Academy filmmaker, told Ad Age. “We wanted to make a piece that would directly reference what she likes and how she wants to come off as a person, more than just a basketball player.

“That's why we went with the pinks everywhere,” she added, referencing the Y2K aesthetic of the ad. Burke worked with other students to film the campaign, operating the camera and storyboarding the shots.

“This was a fun project for me to shoot, because it was so different and unique, which was our goal. I went for the look of something very high key and bright and colorful. We took inspiration from different music videos, not necessarily just ads,” Burke said, adding she had help from her mentors who helped the group ideate shots and the script. 

Also read: Ben Marshall is Kim Kardashian’s devoted Beats Pill assistant in brand’s latest comic spot

The group who worked on Rice’s ad also did a lot of research, as well as an interview with the athlete, to learn about the kind of person he is. The inspiration for their ad was to highlight how Rice has channeled the pressure of growing up as Jerry Rice’s son into motivation to do his best and be his own person, said Angel Gago-Baras, a film student at California State University Northridge and participant in the Beats Academy program. 

“[We wanted to create] a dramatic piece on how we can use pressure to keep going instead of just seeing the bad side of it—how [Rice] uses it to his advantage to meet his goals and be the best that he can be,” Gago-Baras told Ad Age.

“[My group] all bounced off ideas,” he continued. “But something I learned early on, which I already knew before but was reinforced throughout the program, was that the best idea wins. When you’re first starting out, you can get really attached to your ideas. But we're here to make the best ad that we can, and whatever idea is the best, that's what you have to go with.” 

The athletes were selected for this year’s program based on organic talent partnerships with Beats, as well as how they resonate with Gen Z, said Alexis Johnson, head of social impact at Beats.

“Content, music and customs are at the core of what makes Beats, Beats,” she said. "Beats Academy’s curriculum mirrors our unique approach to storytelling and collaboration, and it opens students’ minds to the possibilities of what a creative career could look like.” 

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