Good Sports Creative tapped Pharrell Williams, Voices of Fire choir, and the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra for its 2025 Postseason campaign for Major League Baseball (MLB), ‘October Hits Different’.
The campaign features five total TV spots, with additional 30-second spots to be brought to air during the MLB Division Series, League Championship Series, and World Series. The campaign will air nationally in the US on broadcast TV, MLB Network, MLB.com, include paid social, digital, and OTT, and be played on stadium jumbotrons throughout the Postseason.
Major League Baseball’s ‘October Hits Different’ campaign introduces the 2025 MLB Postseason with music conducted by Pharrell Williams himself. The music parallels the emotions of fans, with every swing, strikeout, and play striking a chord.
MLB and Good Sports Creative teamed with Pharrell Williams to curate a soundtrack that embodies playoff baseball. A suite of TV spots transports Pharrell onto the field, where he conducts the Voices of Fire gospel choir and a 25-piece live orchestra in an adaptation of the choir’s new song ‘Are You Ready?’, which serves as a rallying cry for fan anticipation of the journey to the World Series.
The spot features footage of plays by stars, including Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and Cal Raleigh. The work was conceived by agency Good Sports Creative and directed by Dave Meyers.
“The Major League Baseball Postseason is pure emotional theatre. Every pitch, every swing takes you on an incredible ride—from anticipation to disappointment to absolute euphoria, sometimes within the same inning. Baseball players don’t just compete; they conduct our emotions. They control the tempo, build the tension, and deliver the moments that give you chills,” Josh Bogdan, founder and chief creative officer, Good Sports Creative said.
“That’s why Pharrell, a legendary producer and composer, was the perfect partner to collaborate on a campaign soundtrack to capture these powerful emotions. When he played ‘Are You Ready?’ by Voices of Fire, the hook seamlessly translated the anticipation we feel for Postseason action. The energy and passion with which Voices of Fire sing and move elevated the entire concept,” Bogdan added.
‘October Hits Different’ is the newest work under MLB’s ‘Baseball is Something Else’ platform. The campaign represents the second consecutive year MLB has partnered with Good Sports Creative for Postseason work. Good Sports created MLB’s 2024 World Series spot Empire State of California Love, which amplified the cultural relevance of the NY Yankees v. LA Dodgers matchup by tapping into East v. West anthems Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ ‘Empire State of Mind’ and Dr. Dre and Tupac’s ‘California Love.’ The agency also handled MLB’s recent ‘You Seeing This?’ campaign with Adam Devine.
Credits:
Agency: Good Sports Creative
