Brands Celebrate Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary

Published 02 November 2023

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3 min read

Half a century on from hip-hop’s 1973 beginnings at a party in the Bronx, New York, brands are demonstrating heritage connections with, and contemporary relevancy to, this integral element of Black culture. Diverse campaigns showcase multiple generations of artists serving up solidarity (Sprite and Puma), the origin story (Porsche), digital discoverability (YouTube & Spotify), phygital opportunities (Puma, again) and metaverse tributes (Walmart).

Sprite & Puma Span Generations: One of the first major brands to showcase and support hip-hop, Sprite cast rapper Kurtis Blow in a 1986 ad. Its long-running Obey Your Thirst campaign, starring rising hip-hop artists, segued into 2015’s Obey Your Verse (honouring top lyricists) and 2019’s Thirst for Yours, which foregrounded hip-hop’s broad cultural role. A minute-long ad for 2023 highlights the brand as a bastion of ambassadorship, with stars featured in Sprite campaigns over the decades – spanning old-timers Rakim and Nas to young female stars Latto and GloRilla.

In its commemorative video, sportswear brand Puma reminds audiences of its historic role in hip-hop style, and continued relevance. It pairs icon Slick Rick (the influential rapper and producer, active since the 80s) with female college basketball star Flau’jae Johnson, an aspiring rapper.

Sprite

Sprite’s AI-Personalised Mixtape Art Moments: In a more technologically future-facing initiative, fans can generate mixtape covers using Sprite’s Digital Art Experience. Housed on a microsite created by partner, online magazine Complex Media, the AI-powered artwork is based on designs by digital artist OseanWorld. Users answer a series of questions – such as favourite hip-hop era – to generate a downloadable cover image.

Sprite

Porsche Backs Film Doc: Co-created by Porsche – one of the most-mentioned car brands in hip-hop lyrics – and online German hip-hop media platform Backspin TV, documentary series Back to Tape was launched in 2018. For August 2023, the third Back to Tape project is a feature-length film on the history of American hip-hop, posted to Backspin’s YouTube channel (382k views to date) and a page within Porsche’s Newsroom. Previous projects between the two groups explored European hip-hop.

YouTube Positions Itself as an ‘Archival Treasury’: Digital music platforms are highlighting their roles in fuelling hip-hop’s global influence in the digital-media era. Positioning itself as hip-hop’s “archival treasury”, YouTube’s Fifty Deep campaign includes a video highlighting how the platform makes hip-hop culture easily discoverable (over 1.4 million views to date). Additionally, YouTube Music playlists compile 2,000 classic videos into themes such as Fashion Killas (style-centric tracks) and Sunny Daze (feel-good jams).

Spotify’s Animated Shorts & Commemorative OOH Ads: Spotify, which revealed last month (August) that nearly a quarter of its global streams are hip-hop, emphasises the genre’s worldwide resonance in its Hip-Hop Turns 50 hub and via animated shorts (launching shortly). A commemorative music hub houses a range of playlists, while out-of-home ads in NYC, Atlanta, LA, Miami and Mexico City feature local themes illustrated by British artist Raj Dhunna.

Spotify

Puma & Roc Nation’s Phygital Collab: As part of its commemoration, Puma partnered with US rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z’s entertainment agency Roc Nation for a commemorative Mixtape Collection of sneakers, promoted in a video on Roc Nation’s YouTube channel (100k views in two months). Two shoes in the collection integrate a scannable tag – created by US phygital experiences company Legitimate – through which purchasers can access an audio mix, plus unreleased tracks and behind-the-scenes studio content from Roc Nation artists.

For more on phygital footwear, see Casadei x Decentraland: A Phygital Homage to a Hero Heel in S/S 23 Catwalk Shows: Best Brand Engagement Ideas.

Walmart’s Metaverse Homage: Walmart is backing Cultureverse – an immersive experience on the arts-and-culture-focused Spatial metaverse, created with US-based People of Crypto Lab (POCLab) (a creative studio dedicated to integrating diversity into digital worlds – its initiatives include creating the first metaverse Pride campaign). Launching later this month, the project will be an “educational gamified experience” honouring Black culture’s impact on society through a hip-hop lens.

Walmart

Farfetch’s Cultural Collaboration: Luxury fashion e-tailer Farfetch has launched the first in a three-part Hip Hop 50 vinyl set with US vinyl brand 12on12, which specialises in art/music partnerships. The $278 records feature tracks chosen by (again) Nas, with cover artwork by American graffiti artist Futura 2000, with a limited-edition set of $14k+ art prints signed by the two. A photo essay about hip-hop history, features up-and-coming Gen Z American rappers Midwxst and Bktherula, shot in shoppable Farfetch product.

For hip-hop-themed campaigns that launched earlier this year, see Cultural Diversity Campaigns: Spring 2023 Highlights & Strategies.

For more on the future of music engagement, see The Future Music Marketplace, Part 1 and Part 2, and the section Fan-Tastic Trading in our Retail Regenerated: Powerhouse Predictions for 23/24 webinar.

Farfetch