The talent involved in the creation of each video will also sit down in conversation with 2Baba, Campari's current brand ambassador, to get under the skin of what makes these artists tick, and what drives their passion and creativity.

The interview series will be aired across West Africa on MTV Base West and online.

According to Campari, the campaign isn't just for the artists; it's offering fans the opportunity to share the stage with these icons and become a part of culture themselves. To secure that chance, they'll need to submit content expressing their own passion, with Campari.

2Baba says that if he and Campari can help make people's passion their life's work, [his] work is done.

"We want to show everyone out there that their passions can become their careers. Just like I worked hard at making music my life's work, we believe more people need to see the light, and hopefully this helps them unleash all those dreams and potential," says 2Baba.

"And that's why this the Passion Project is not a once-off thing for Campari. Every year, we'll come back bigger and better. And, next up imagine, we light up Ghana, Kenya, hold nothing back," adds 2Baba.



Individuals are encouraged to follow the campaign on Instagram @CampariNigeria.

Explaining the rationale behind the campaign, HaveYouHeard head of research and insights Claudia Schonitz says, "Campari and its way of communicating with young Nigerians needed to evolve if they were going to capture their attention … and conventional advertising wasn't going to answer that."

HaveYouHeard teamed up with Malokun Labs on the ground in Lagos to gain insights into the cultural elements shaping how the youth market interacted with brands. Three studies, each comprising 565 interviewees, provided the information the insights team identified as resonating most with the target audience and hence needing magnification.

"Music is the most influential and accessible community in African youth culture, crossing borders and breaking ground for new trends. And music videos are key to an artist's success with YouTube used as a 'free' music streaming platform," says HaveYouHeard group executive creative director Dan Berkowitz.

"Consumption environments screen sports as a drawcard, but when there isn't a game, they shift to the music video channels. Still, even the biggest artists struggle to get funding for high-quality video productions," adds Berkowitz.

"We suggested Campari change that by engaging the youth with content and experiences that go beyond advertising. [This is] through a strategy that makes the iconic brand an influential part of popular culture and turns the leaders and followers of the next cultural wave into a new generation of Campari fans," Berkowitz says.

"Now, as champions of passion and creativity, Campari's role in culture is to support Africa's new generation of artists and put them on the world stage," says Schonitz.

"We've discovered the space where our passions meet theirs. And we're playing a real role in what they care about by connecting them with who they look up to and putting them on the big stage through a pan-African partnership with Africa's biggest music channel, MTV Base," concludes Schonitz.

For more information, visit www.haveyouheard.co.za. You can also follow HaveYouHeard on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram