Beats by Dre's Culture First Approach Still Works...

Beats' brand has been able to maintain its position in culture nearly 2 decades later, here's how...

Beats by Dre has been playing the cultural game for nearly two decades and it’s still finding ways to stay relevant. Since launching in 2006, co-founded by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, the brand positioned itself at the intersection of music, sport, and culture. From early co-signs by major artists to smart product placements with athletes, Beats don’t just sell products it sells an identity. That formula helped it stand out, especially when it used personalities already shaping the moment.

In its most recent Beats Pill campaign, rather than diving deep into product specs, the brand leaned into personality and emotion. Two new colourways, Navy Blue and Blush Pink, were introduced through WNBA star Angel Reese and former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo. Rather than focusing on specs, Beats tapped into the distinct personality of each athlete, using their presence to give the product character and feeling.

Both speakers got its own animated personality, styled to reflect the athlete behind it. Daniel Ricciardo, Navy Blue Pill was animated with his trademark cheeky charm, doing his signature “Shoey” celebration (where he drinks champagne out of a shoe). While, Angel Reese’s version is bold, confident, unapologetic, and styled with her signature edge. Their voices powerfully bring the characters to life in the brand’s playful promo videos, offering a fresh face to the product.

This campaign reinforces Beats’ long-standing approach: don’t lead with features, lead with people. By doubling down on emotion and personality, Beats positions the Pill not just as a speaker, but as an extension of the lifestyles it wants to align with. It’s less about what the product does and more about how it feels, a move that helps the brand stay culturally resonant and personally relatable. As marketing continues to shift toward emotional connection and storytelling, it’ll be worth watching how Beats builds on this momentum with Angel Reese and Daniel Ricciardo to further embed the Pill into moments that actually matter to consumers.

This a familiar play for Beats, they’ve benefitted hugely from their athlete relationships in the past. An example that straight away pops into mind is LeBron James gifting Beats headphones to the entire Team USA squad ahead of the Olympics, a moment that turned into massive earned media and deepened the brand’s association with elite sport and culture.

Angel Reese is well-positioned to carry that torch in her own way. Whether it’s gifting the Pill to her team, using it during training, or sharing moments of downtime with friends and family, these authentic, everyday touchpoints offer a kind of cultural credibility that traditional ads can’t buy. In a market where emotional connection is the real currency, these moments are where the brand builds real traction.

There’s no shortage of audio brands today. But Beats is still managing to cut through by focusing on what it’s always done best, aligning with people who already have cultural momentum. The product matters, but the context it’s placed in matters even more.

For brands who want to engage with younger audiences, the takeaway is simple: Don’t start with the product. Start with culture. Know who’s shaping it. And make sure your campaigns feel like they belong within it not outside looking in.