Sports and the concepts behind marketing are two things I find very interesting therefore, a sports related commercial is usually something to draw my attention. Earlier today I witnessed a commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick, QB for the San Francisco 49ers, minutes after their playoff win entering the stadium of the Seattle Seahawks; whom they will play in next week’s matchup. The commercial depicts Kaepernick exiting his bus to the jeering of Seattle fans of which he is able to drown out with his Beats by Dre headphones. The slogan “hear what you want” is then presented. My initial interest was with the haste that this commercial was televised. I also believed it to be very well produced commercial. Seahawks fans are illustrious for their ability to rattle opposing teams therefore; the commercial shows that if the ‘noise cancelling’ headphones can drown out their screams and taunts it can do nearly anything.

49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick in Beats by Dre Commercial

After doing some research and realizing the commercial was produced in early December my interest turned to a new focus; a, potentially unexpected, backlash occurred from Seattle fans stating the commercial was inaccurate and trashy, some going so far as to say Seattle should boycott Beats by Dre altogether. Although the target audience may have been 49er fans, surely they must have known the commercial would spread all over the US. So why did their company make a commercial that so clearly alienates Seahawks fans. If I had to guess I would say because it’s a good commercial. It’s effective, interesting and if nothing else it has people talking about them. While a potential boycott could create issues, I assume the company would create a new strategy potentially using a Seattle icon to head its campaign. I think it is safe to say that Dr. Dre will get away with slating a whole city with his newest marketing scheme.