Beats: Be Heard Commercial Analysis

The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait” (312). Emerson’s metaphor can be readily applied to commercials. A commercial must represent its product clearly, reach its target audience, deliver a message, and—most importantly—be memorable. Considering these points, the “Beats by Dre Presents: Be Heard” commercial inadequately sways young adults to purchase Beats headphones. The “Beats by Dre Presents: Be Heard” commercial contains no words outside of the song playing throughout the commercial. Beats claims to play music better than other headphones because with other headphones “People aren’t hearing all the music” (“People”). The commercial does not clearly convey this idea, however, because on television, the music on any headphone commercial sounds the same. While the sound lacks what is necessary to represent Beats fully, the visual aspect of the commercial rectifies the representation. The commercial cuts from scene to scene of people doing different activities while wearing Beats headphones, demonstrating the versatility of Beats headphones and the consumer’s preference, with or without wires. Overall, the product is not adequately represented because the commercial does not differentiate Beats headphones from any other headphones.

No matter who the target audience is, showing a commercial during the Super Bowl almost guarantees that the target audience will be tapped. While the “Beats by Dre Presents: Be Heard” commercial does not explain what Beats are or what they do, most young adults, the intended target audience, know Beats and that Beats claim to be superior to other headphones. The people who would not know about Beats are typically older than the target audience; therefore, this commercial reaches its target audience