• by Fern Siegel , February 17, 2025

Beats has enlisted three sports stars — LeBron James, Lionel Messi and Shohei Ohtani — for its new Powerbeats Pro 2 campaign.

Narrated by rapper RZA, the “Listen to Your Heart” campaign highlights the connection between drive and performance.

Powerbeats Pro 2, designed for high performance, reflects the athletes’ intensity, using top audio to fuel their training. Beats is making a big push to prove that the greatest athletes use their products in workout and lifestyle contexts.

Translation did the creative. The Powerbeats Pro 2 is owned and available at Apple.com

“Even though we come from different sports, what connects us is our shared passion to perform at the highest level. This campaign reflects how true power comes from the heart—how we've all used that inner drive to fuel our journeys and push ourselves throughout our careers,” said soccer Lionel Messi, who captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and Argentina’s national team.

This campaign is running on Beat’s social channels, supported by social extensions and two key OOH placements in New York’s Times Square and The Grove in LA. It also lives across Ohtani, LeBron and Messi’s social channels.  

“We cast an extremely wide net of a target audience — it aims to empower athletes of all backgrounds, ages and nationalities. The entire concept is built around the idea that we all have an engine inside of us that, once its power is harnessed, can push us to incredible heights on the court, pitch or field,” Steve Horn, group creative director, Translation, told Agency Daily.

Translation client work includes McDonald's, the NBA and State Farm.