Dive Brief:
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After a deal between the National Football League and Bose headphones, several professional football players are flouting a new ban on wearing Beats by Dre headphones anywhere near cameras.
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Beats Music founder, music producer, and now Apple executive Jimmy Iovine said he’s loving the free publicity from the players, who are risking $10,000 fines and are barely covering up the Beats by Dre logo with tape. Apple acquired Beats Electronics LLC in May for $3 billion.
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Iovine slammed the ban, but said it was helping Beats by Dre appear to be the cool, underdog brand despite its recent sale to tech and retail giant Apple.
Dive Insight:
Exclusive deals like the one inked between Bose and the National Football League are usually a boon for a company. The recent troubles at the NFL may not be helping, but, as Jimmy Iovine says, the ban on wearing Beats by Dre headphones may be lending a cool factor that can't be brought or wrought by any marketing campaign. Players are getting around the ban by sticking tape on the Beats logo, a laughable move because the headphones' unique shape is inescapable. That's just another way the headphones seem to be for edgy, rebellious cool kids.
"We didn't do anything, and now the players are going out and putting black tape on our logo," Iovine told Business Insider. "It's like, I can't believe I'm this lucky. I feel like sending them the tape.”