Beats by Dre Debuts Wacky Buddy Comedy With NFL and F1 Stars

This chestnut thoroughbred struggles with speed and consistency, seems to have four left feet and may be past his prime. But he has a unique edge in a competitive world—namely two superstar owners and … the gift of speech?

The talking equine’s name is Ricallen, a portmanteau of his passionate backers—Josh Allen, quarterback for the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, and Formula 1 racer Daniel Ricciardo—who made the impulsive purchase as a symbol of their deepening bromance.

Can they ride this fiscally irresponsible decision all the way to the winner’s circle?

The wacky scenario, by the way, is mostly make-believe—except the BFF part—as Allen and Ricciardo chart new territory for Beats by Dre’s latest marketing campaign.

The two athletes star in a nearly seven-minute film launching today that’s part buddy comedy, part underdog and fish-out-of-water story—an evolution of the brand’s traditional advertising with a rollout that borrows from Hollywood blockbusters.

Beats wanted to do “something unexpected and break out of the mold” of a 30-second product-focused spot, according to chief marketing officer Chris Thorne, while still including a generous but unobtrusive amount of product embedded in the content.

Brand execs recently brainstormed some entertainment-centric concepts built around the real-life friendship of Allen and Ricciardo, who are both in the existing ambassador stable of the Apple-owned company.

An off-the-wall idea

Working with agency Mirimar, the team sketched out a mini-movie called “The Legend of Ricallen” that features trippy animation, unrequited love, cowboy core, familiar tropes and throwback music. 

“We said, ‘Let’s come up with some crazy, off-the-wall ideas,’ but we didn’t know what would happen when we approached Josh and Daniel,” Thorne told ADWEEK. “We were amazed they were up for it.”

There was some chatter about editing the spot for a shorter run-time, but Thorne and crew informally tested it at its full length and decided on that version. 

“We don’t have rules on how short or long a piece of content has to be,” Thorne said, noting that busting the conventional 60-second framework reflects the brand’s “defiant self-expression.”

The athletes were “fully committed from day one,” embracing the self-deprecating, meta nature of the project, according to Luke McKelvey, co-founder and managing director of Mirimar.

“Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham, Pete Davidson and Colin Jost bought the Staten Island Ferry,” McKelvey said. “Now Josh and Daniel bought a racehorse.”

Switching gears

Ricciardo called the narrative campaign “a new experience that put me a little bit out of my comfort zone, so I enjoyed that challenge.”

“Ricallen,” with its not-so-subtle lampooning of celebrity entrepreneurs and luxury lifestyles, presents a welcome alternative to the hyper-competitive pro athlete image, Ricciardo said.

The film “definitely captures the human side of us and the goofiness, which I think people like to see,” Ricciardo said. “Everyone has a job, and everyone has to show up at work and be professional, but that’s not who we are 24/7.”

Ricciardo and Allen, whose relationship stretches back several years, share a love of classic comedies like Step Brothers and the entire Will Ferrell catalog, so the script appealed to them immediately, Ricciardo said.

But life isn’t imitating art, with the men having no plans to get into a high-risk business venture together, Ricciardo said. Not yet, anyway.

Red carpet treatment

They have been on the promotional trail, though, mimicking the release of a feature film via mini-junkets with the press. 

The athletes will be stumping for the project through their social channels and upcoming appearances and helping to debut a line of “Ricallen” merchandise, which is a first for a Beats ad. Ricciardo will shout out “Ricallen” on his helmet at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, where the branded T-shirts and other swag will be available. Allen, meanwhile, starts NFL training camp soon—a prime opportunity for “Ricallen” exposure.

Beats, extending the red carpet approach, dropped a 30-second trailer for “Ricallen” Monday. The video logged some 3 million views on Instagram alone within 24 hours.

The campaign could help Beats with F1 fans, a group that’s been largely untapped in previous marketing, said Thorne. He noted that the brand has been courting new demographics with recent ties to Kim Kardashian, K-pop star Jennie from Blackpink and bestselling video game Minecraft.

Beats will continue to use limited-edition product drops and talent to “flex the brand” into new areas, Thorne said.

“The Legend of Ricallen” will get distribution on Beats’ Instagram and YouTube channels, with cutdowns for TikTok and potential media buys across platforms.