Micheal Phelps Headphones

[shabtek]

Anybody getting this ad...

what an unlikely endorsement deal...though I gather headphones is doing brisk business lately; the young adults and tweens at Thanksgiving dinner were debating what the cost threshold is for good 'phones...and maybe Phelps is seen in from the corporate ad world as an ("anti")hero.

 

[thermionic]

You can get a Phelps bong as well






(he is an awesome athlete - just joshing)

 

[gemini86]

thermionic, you have 1176 posts... I wouldn't post ever again, at least not on that account.

Phelps: I think he's got a endorsement deal because the guy constantly had headphones on during the Olympics. People were constantly asking him what was on his playlist, etc.

 

[tv]

thermionic, you have 1176 posts... I wouldn't post ever again, at least not on that account.
...

Perhaps he's aiming at 1290 ?

 

[bruno2000]

thermionic, you have 1176 posts... I wouldn't post ever again, at least not on that account.
...

Perhaps he's aiming at 1290 ?

or 2254?
Best,
Bruno2000

 

[Skylar]

Yes, Phelps has an endorsement deal with SOL Republic. He even has a signature model.

Celebrity endorsement is one of the best inexpensive (relatively that is) ways to get your product seen, especially when your celebrity is on television frequently.

Both Monster and SOL kind of bent/broke the sponsorship rules of the Olympics by "unofficially" handing out their headphones to athletes to be worn during the events, obviously heavily televised.
It's like getting a 24-7 commercial without really having to pay for it. There's also the added benefit of it feeling more legit than a commercial. "Hey, this is what these athletes really listen to" is what we're supposed to believe.

Not surprising that these two specific companies engage in identical marketing/product tactics. SOL was started by Kevin Lee, the son of "Head Monster" Noel Lee.

They certainly have figured out how to appeal to the mass market. More educated consumers know better.

 

[gemini86]

I swear if I see another kid walk down the street with Beats By Dre headphones, I'm going to move to the moon.

 

[Andy Peters]

I swear if I see another kid walk down the street with Beats By Dre headphones, I'm going to move to the moon.

It would be better if the people who actually use those headphones went to the moon instead.

-a

 

[thermionic]

The power of celebrity endorsement utterly baffles me... I've seen professionals take interest in products they otherwise wouldn't because a well-known person endorses them. Bizarre. Do people not use their own brains / ears these days? They need to be told what's good... Either via message boards (no two people look the same, why should their auditory systems mirror one another?) or via celebrity endorsement.

Michael Phelps - "The Great Audio Hardware Arbiter"  :



(once again - I'm not knocking him as an athlete - one of the greatest without doubt)

 

[JohnRoberts]

The power of celebrity endorsement utterly baffles me... I've seen professionals take interest in products they otherwise wouldn't because a well-known person endorses them. Bizarre. Do people not use their own brains / ears these days? They need to be told what's good... Either via message boards (no two people look the same, why should their auditory systems mirror one another?) or via celebrity endorsement.

Michael Phelps - "The Great Audio Hardware Arbiter"  :



(once again - I'm not knocking him as an athlete - one of the greatest without doubt)

The broader question is why do people pay premium prices for brand name commodity products???

I suspect it relates to the nature of how we make such purchase decisions, often relying on sub/semi-concious thought processes, similar to intuition. People pay a premium for XYZ brand gasoline or canned corn, despite the reality that it all pretty much comes from the same manufacturers.

Purchase influences range from will this purchase look stupid (like sub-standard gas that stalls the car), or embarrass me from headphones (or sneakers) that aren't cool when my friends see me using them.

Consumers make the vast majority of daily purchase decisions in a semi-aware haze. It's harder to win at this game if we don't realize how we are influenced by marketers. 

JR

 

[Rochey]

I had a converastion allong these lines with a teenager on my wifes side of the family

Teen: i wanna get some new headphones for xmas
Me: cool, watcha thinking about? Grado's? Senheisers? Have you listened to any you like at best buy?
Teen: listened? I really want some beats or skullcandy headphones... Ones that look cool.

At that point, i got up and walked into the other room.

For some, these things are simply fashion items.

 

[Kingston]

People seem to be forgetting the pure entrepreneurship of Dre and his associates here. It was of course never their point to concentrate on "studio quality" or whatever people on this site care about. To feel above some teenager who chooses Dre or whatever colorful headphones is missing the point entirely.

Dre alone is making 80 million a year off this. Probably not too motivated to make music anymore. Who cares about sound quality. Also who cares about the consumer sheep who will buy whatever they are told to buy as long as they are told enough times. Doesn't matter if they need it or if it's improving their lives, they just need to believe it does. And this is no insurance or big pharma goverment level scam, no one has bad consciousness about this.

This also sets up a better example for the inner city youth than some violent ghetto rap group, about how to make it in the world.

 

[Skylar]

Great points by Rochey and Kingston.

It is absolutely incredible what Beats has done in terms of business. Most every headphone company on the planet wishes they could replicate the success of this brand.

I think Beats products (and products of other imitating brands) are disorienting to audiophiles and audio engineers (I believe this forum's demographic skews towards the latter), because we are used to thinking about headphones as audio products.

But the fact is, these products are fashion accessories. More like a sneaker than an audio product.
The goal of these "accessories" is, above all, to make the consumer feel cool—as if they just became a member of an exclusive club.
Whereas, the Prime Directive of headphones we might seek is accuracy or musicality.

It's just a different world—a different consumer.

 

[JohnRoberts]

It's not that rare or unusual even for that demographic... look at how many kids had to buy "air jordan"** basketball shoes who don't even play basketball.

While "image" products that sell for a premium above otherwise good quality offerings need to at least be premium quality too.

JR

** nowadays the top of mountain premium basketball show is a "Lebron James" Nike that they priced around $300/pr.

ps: for me to pay $300+ for basketball shoes they would have to come with new knees.... (installed).

 

[usekgb]

Great points by Rochey and Kingston.

It is absolutely incredible what Beats has done in terms of business. Most every headphone company on the planet wishes they could replicate the success of this brand.

I think Beats products (and products of other imitating brands) are disorienting to audiophiles and audio engineers (I believe this forum's demographic skews towards the latter), because we are used to thinking about headphones as audio products.

But the fact is, these products are fashion accessories. More like a sneaker than an audio product.
The goal of these "accessories" is, above all, to make the consumer feel cool—as if they just became a member of an exclusive club.
Whereas, the Prime Directive of headphones we might seek is accuracy or musicality.

It's just a different world—a different consumer.

I went and listened to a bunch of Beats headphones the other day, and was pretty disappointed.  It's not that they sounded bad, but they didn't sound $300 good either.  They weren't close to being flat, but they did have a big clean low end, which is great for casually listening to hip-hop or electronic music.

Another problem with my listening "experience".......  The music being played back in the demo unit was all distorted and compressed!  This was the actual Beats by Dre demo display at Best Buy!  I know Dre has a decent set of ears, and I wonder how this display could have ever been approved.  Oh well.  At least I still have a bunch of k240's!

 

[Kingston]

Another problem with my listening "experience".......  The music being played back in the demo unit was all distorted and compressed!  This was the actual Beats by Dre demo display at Best Buy!  I know Dre has a decent set of ears, and I wonder how this display could have ever been approved.

Approved? It was probably his idea! I mean if he is up to date with his demographic that is. They have been taught to Youtube and tiny earbud sound quality and they play this LOUD. Or playback on mobile phone loudspeaker. You have to sink to the correct reference level in order to reach the target audience.

 

[usekgb]

Good point Kingston.

 

[gemini86]

Yeah, the loud wars are still in full swing. Everything MUST be crushed to death and distorted as hell or it will never make it to the top 40 radio. (cuz wen tha base dropz it gotta b liek BBBBBBBFFFFT)

 

[mushy]

Beats sound like they have wet rags shoved in the earpieces.

Just terrible.