Black Rifle Coffee Company is using the power of music to celebrate Memorial Day.
The veteran-founded coffee brand has released "Folded Flag," an original song and music video created by co-founder Mat Best.
It's the brand's way of honoring fallen service members and Gold Star families while supporting the Major Brent Taylor Foundation.
The release comes with a $150,000 contribution from Black Rifle Coffee Company to the nonprofit, which was founded by Jennie Taylor after her husband, Major Brent Taylor, was killed in action while serving overseas.
At its core, the initiative serves as a reminder of Memorial Day’s original meaning.
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According to the brand, the project is the start of a multi-year Memorial Day initiative focused on remembrance and continued support for military families.
"Memorial Day should be spent with the people you love, grilling, laughing, and enjoying the freedom we’ve all been given," said Best.
"But that freedom was paid for by men and women who didn’t make it home, and by families who carry that loss every single day."
Overall, the campaign continues a strategy rooted in military identity and community support.
But this time, the brand is using music to drive emotion and showcase Black Rifle's brand values.
Built Around Remembrance
Folded Flag was inspired by Best’s personal military experience, including combat deployments and the loss of close friends in service.
The spot focuses on the emotional aftermath of military loss, centering on families, remembrance ceremonies, and veterans carrying folded American flags tied to fallen soldiers.
The project also includes real combat veterans in the music video, many from the special operations community.
Jennie Taylor said the initiative reflects the lived experience of Gold Star families outside of public ceremonies or holiday observances.
"We need to get back to the real meaning of Memorial Day in this country. For families like mine, it is deeply personal," she said.
"'Folded Flag' captures the essence of why this Foundation exists."
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The campaign launched across Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and YouTube, giving the project reach across both streaming and video platforms.
Mat Best’s own audience also plays a role in amplifying the effort.
Apart from co-founding the coffee company, he has built a large digital following through military-focused entertainment, books, and online video content revolving around veteran experiences and patriotism.
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This built-in audience gives the campaign credibility that many cause-based efforts struggle to achieve when entering emotionally sensitive topics.
How Black Rifle Coffee Company Grows Its Military Identity
Founded in 2014, Black Rifle Coffee Company has consistently established itself as a veteran-focused brand supporting military members, first responders, and their families.
Its Memorial Day campaign expands that title by taking attention away from products and toward the holiday itself.
The campaign also shows how branded music videos like this can carry more weight when it comes from people with direct lived experience connected to the message:
- Put emotion at the center of your Memorial Day campaigns. Audiences engage more deeply when the message feels personal instead of promotional.
- Use long-form storytelling to establish the position of your brand. Music videos and documentary-style content can deepen the trust of your audiences over time.
- Align campaigns with existing community credibility. Black Rifle Coffee Company benefits because its military identity already feels established and consistent.
The larger takeaway is that brands aligning with specific communities are increasingly using entertainment formats to drive emotional engagement with consumers.
Our Take: Can Memorial Day Messaging Still Feel Authentic?
Patriotic sales language can no longer suffice. If you want to honor your soldiers, you have to make it feel personal.
Black Rifle Coffee Company understands that its strongest marketing asset is credibility within the veteran community, and the campaign stays focused on that.
Music also helps the campaign feel more like a tribute that people may resonate with and willingly share on their own.
This comes in handy at a time when audiences are getting better at spotting cause marketing that feels disconnected from a brand’s actual history or audience.
Folded Flag didn't need to convince people it cares about the military community; you can already feel it as the verse rolls in.
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