FIFA bans Beats headphones at World Cup

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AMG

Herald
The colorful high-end headphones created by rapper Dr Dre have become a ubiquitous soccer accessory. Neymar likes them Brazil-green. England’s Wayne Rooney, white. Luis Suarez, blue. But soccer world governing body FIFA’s licensing agreement with rival electronics maker Sony Corp means players have to take them off when they are in World Cup stadiums for official matches and media events.

Yes, the headphones are banned from the pitch by FIFA for licensing reasons, the bulky Beats headphones are a favorite for many of the world’s top players, making the World Cup a huge unofficial ad for the company acquired by Apple last month for $3 billion

In fact, Sony this month issued all players participating in the World Cup with a free set of its own headphones they can take to the games. But so far few players have been spotted with them wrapped around their necks.

Marketing experts say that banning the headphones from World Cup stadiums for official matches and media events may probably only amplifies their appeal. Neymar wore them as he stepped off the bus at the Castelao stadium of Fortaleza for Brazil’s last training season on the eve of their match with Mexico on Tuesday. Suarez had them wrapped around his neck as he joked with his Uruguay team mates during a break at a recent practice.

Moreover, Beats Electronics is also known for “guerrilla marketing” tactics to bypass licensing barriers. During the 2012 Olympics in London, for instance, the company sent thousands of free headphones to high profile athletes including the US basketball team and the entire British delegation, outsmarting official sponsor Panasonic.

Officials at Beats were not available for comment on their strategy at the Olympics and this World Cup.

A five-minute film featuring Neymar, Suarez, Germany’s Mario Goetze, Netherlands’ Robin van Persie, Mexico’s Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and other players wearing Beats headphones released days before the World Cup has been seen by 10.6 million people on YouTube. Its name? “The Game Before the Game”.


Source: http://tech.firstpost.com/news-anal...ones-world-cup-may-amplify-appeal-226033.html
 
What is the penalty if a player is seen in the stadium with the offending headphone ?

By the looks of it nothing.
 
Oh, it's because of licensing.

I thought it was due to crappy quality of their products.

amen to that.

Having used beats for a while (friends, dunno whichthough) I found hardly any difference between it and a Soundmagic ES18. Cost was double (999 vs 500 for es18s)
 
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