Beats by Dre is still obsessed with footballers

The relationship between football and Beats by Dre shows no signs of fading, quite the opposite: it keeps growing stronger over time. The latest players to become brand ambassadors are Kobe Mainoo and Cole Palmer. The Manchester United midfielder stars in the campaign for the Powerbeats Pro 2, the sports earphones designed for training. Unsurprisingly, the launch video shows Mainoo running through the streets of Manchester while listening to ABC by Nemzz. Chelsea forward Cole Palmer, on the other hand, features in the ad for the Beats Studio Pro, the classic over-ear headphones. In the video, Palmer is shown skating on ice, wearing sneakers instead of skates, and the closing tagline reads: “Some play, others glide”.

Beats by Dre has always associated its image with athletes, starting with LeBron James, but in recent times has made a clear shift towards footballers—the athletes who, especially in Europe, draw the most attention. Before Mainoo and Palmer, Lamine Yamal signed with Beats by Dre, and before him it was Erling Haaland who was chosen as a global ambassador. And “global” is the key word. Today, footballers have become true international icons. While in the past this was true only for a few exceptions, now most players are fully aware of their commercial potential and actively leverage the media power of their image rights, making brands more eager than ever to invest in them.

These are just the latest examples of how the role of footballers has definitively transcended the boundaries of sport. Their actions on the pitch have become trademarks to be used to their advantage. Just take Palmer and his now-iconic celebration gesture, warming himself with his hands on his opposite shoulders, that earned him the nickname Cold Palmer. This not only cemented his status as a global superstar but also shaped the image of a composed footballer, capable of staying cool and performing at his best in any situation. A figure perfectly suited to the world of advertising, without losing his authenticity.

In the case of Beats by Dre, investing in footballers has also meant outpacing the competition from the AirPods Max. For a while, it seemed that Apple’s headphones were poised to take center stage in the football world, becoming the go-to choice for players looking to get in the zone before a match. Just keep an eye on McKennie and Kephren Thuram: during Juventus' away trips, they never go without their Apple headphones. But Beats by Dre flipped the script, choosing instead to focus on the new generation of players, those born in the 2000s and beyond, with whom teenagers around the world can identify. There is no monopoly, but it’s clear that Beats by Dre is now the dominant brand in football and sports in general when it comes to headphones.