Beats by Dre, the popular over-the-ear headphones, have dominated the market for the past 4 or 5 years. This is in part because of a smart message to a specific target audience: teenagers and young adults. Most people in this age range enjoy hip-hop and pop music, and Beats communicating one major message to its prime prospects: bass. Because bass is such an important part of hip hop and pop music these days, along with dubstep (another popular genre for young people), the target audience wanted the Beats because of the bass. The fact that Dr. Dre, a famous rapper, endorsed these headphones also helped with popularity. They come in all kinds of bright colors that are recognizable from a distance and have become a fashion statement.
JBL has released a TV spot that directly attacks Beats by Dre. They comment on the fact that strictly loud bass does not make good sound, the colors are ridiculous ("We were going to offer neon, but we thought the loudest part of headphones shouldn't be the color"), and how you "don't have to be a doctor to know that trends fade." It is a clever ad with passive aggressive puns that jab at its direct competitor. Watch it below:
I love how they go directly after beats with this ad. I also think that one of the main reasons Beats are so popular is because they're instantly recognized, so by using that product in conjunction with their advertising they can maintain some of that same recall from consumers
ReplyDeleteI find this advertisement very interesting. It was only a matter of time before a competitor challenged beats in offering high quality, over the ear headphones. I was actually curious about the legality of this advertisement because it attacks Beats so directly. At one point the Beats logo is even shown, which I think walks the line to say the least.
ReplyDelete