Campaign Trail is our evaluation of a few of the very best recent creative efforts from the marketing world. View past columns within the archives here.
Earlier this month, LeBron James took to social media to tease an upcoming interview that he promised would reveal “the decision of all decisions.” With a nod to the enduring — and infamous — 2010 TV special through which the NBA legend announced his intention to “take [his] talents to South Beach” and sign with the Miami Heat, the web went into spin mode. Would James finally be announcing the tip of his illustrious profession?
Not so fast, ball-knowers. On Oct. 7, James revealed that this fall, he’d be taking his talents… to Hennessy V.S.O.P., continuing a partnership with the cognac house that kicked off last yr with a social-first experience that tapped into LeBron lore. This time around, Hennessy and agency Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam had one shot at telling the story of the brand’s next steps with James.
“We used what we knew concerning the timing of this, knowing it was within the offseason, a time when a variety of persons are going to be talking about trade rumors, about retirement, about an entire range of things, and we focused that as our foundation,” said Amar Babbar, communications planning director on the agency. “If we’re talking about LeBron, there’s one very necessary and really significant story … which is the decision in 2010.”
The Decision has been made. Cheers to yr 23.@KingJames #HennessyxLeBron #TheSecondDecision #HennessyVSOP pic.twitter.com/WnXMZTiEPS
— Hennessy (@Hennessy) October 7, 2025
The result’s a 60-second social video that recreates the appear and feel of the unique “Decision,” with a “SportsCenter”-like presentation. James wears a shirt with the same pattern to the one he donned all those years ago and spouts the identical “man, this is hard” asides. Explaining his decision, James says — over a montage of shots including a record player, card tricks and chess moves — Hennessey will help him win at hosting, crafting cocktails, having a very good time and impressing guests.
“Numerous thought and craft went into taking a look at the unique and drawing the suitable parallels and keeping it authentic, but in addition infusing brand cues in a tasteful way,” said Zeynep Orbay, a creative director at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam. “There was a positive line, but… how subtle or how expressive it’s, is in a very good balance.”
Can’t make an omelette…
James’ partnership with Hennessy comes at a time when alcohol brands have greater than 300 celebrity endorsements (in response to Wieden + Kennedy’s count), spanning every little thing from Hollywood superstar owner-operators to hold-a-bottle photo shoots. With that in mind, the agency works to chop through the noise by breaking into wider conversations around sports.
For last yr’s launch, that meant nodding to cultural knowledge around James that serves as “gold dust” on social, Babbar said. The effort featured trivia tidbits, like that James only reads the primary page of a book or the proven fact that he can’t spin a ball on his finger, which got here out throughout the last Olympics.
“Hennessy really desired to make sure that that this time around, the world knew that the connection was continuing, that it was a deepening relationship, and wanting to have an effect that matched last yr or beat it,” Babbar said. “How will we make sure that that we’ve got the web, the brand fans and sports fans talking about it, [so] ultimately we draw more people into the brand?”
Wieden + Kennedy has worked with Hennessy for the last couple of years to make the 260-year-old brand feel more young, fresh and relevant through a revamped tone and communication style. That has led the brand toward a social-first strategy and away from traditional promoting.
In the case of “The Second Decision,” the agency tried to recreate the sensation of appointment-viewing associated traditional linear TV but on social media, hoping that the teasers on Instagram and the platform formerly often known as Twitter would pique the interest of LeBron’s fans — and haters.
“We were treating it like a cultural moment, like the unique ‘Decision,’ so having a really clear one-two punch [and] ensuring that every one those those that spoke concerning the teaser had something to react to almost immediately [was key],” Babbar said.
…without breaking some eggs
“The Second Decision” was crafted with social media virality in mind. In that way, the trouble succeeded — even when among the feedback around LeBron was negative (A Washington Post op-ed maintained, “LeBron James is selling his credibility, one Decision at a time.”). But each agency and brand knew “you possibly can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs,” Babbar said.
“Whether we’re talking about LeBron James or about Hennessy, great things are sometimes an acquired taste, and it’s okay to be divisive. It’s okay to stir up opinion. It’s okay to stir up each really positive sentiment and possibly some individuals who aren’t so comfortable. But it’s about being there for who your audience actually is,” Babbar said.
“The Second Decision” definitely stirred up opinion and engagement. Video content, especially storytelling led by LeBron, has sustained exceptional reach and interaction within the week for the reason that teaser dropped, with Hennessy Reels seeing a greater than three-fold increase to 24.57% engagement, per Metricool evaluation shared with Marketing Dive. In addition, the push across each James’ and Hennessy’s social posts generated nearly $18 million in total estimated media value, with a mean engagement rate over 12% (far surpassing industry benchmarks of lower than half a percent), per Sprout Social data shared with Marketing Dive.
“Hennessy didn’t just hire a celeb spokesperson with their latest ‘The Second Decision’ campaign featuring LeBron James,” said Sprout Social’s Director of Communications Kaitlyn Gronek in emailed comments. “They cleverly recontextualized a nostalgic, viral moment to create a brand new, immediately shareable conversation that’s clearly resonating with audiences and lengthening the campaign’s reach with engaging social content.”
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