Beats Partners With Major League Soccer on New Marketing Campaign

[MacRumors]

Apple's partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) is expanding with a new agreement that will see Apple's Beats brand become the official consumer audio products partner of MLS. As part of the partnership, Beats will produce exclusive custom headphones for eight MLS clubs, with additional clubs to follow.

The eight clubs that will initially receive custom Beats headphones include Atlanta United, Columbus Crew, Inter Miami, LAFC, Nashville SC, NYCFC, St. Louis City SC, and Toronto FC, and MLS players will be featured in Beats marketing campaigns through both Beats and MLS.

"For more than a decade, Beats headphones have been chosen by the world's top athletes to help them get game ready and heighten their focus, while also allowing them to show off their style and personality," said Chris Thorne, Beats' CMO. "We are extremely excited to join forces with the MLS, one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sports leagues in the world. Beats will be working closely with the MLS clubs and top players to deliver amazing experiences throughout the upcoming season."

The announcement comes just a few days ahead of the new MLS season which will see Apple TV once again serving as the worldwide home for MLS streaming with MLS Season Pass. MLS Season Pass is available in over 100 countries, with pricing in the U.S. set at $14.99 per month or $99 for the full season. Apple TV+ subscribers receive a discounted price of $12.99 per month or $79 for the full season.

Article Link: Beats Partners With Major League Soccer on New Marketing Campaign

 

[LeeW]

Tacky when they do this.

 

[roar08]

Wait, the MLS web site is really mlssoccer.com? Major League Soccer soccer?

 

[robgreene]

Wait, the MLS web site is really mlssoccer.com? Major League Soccer soccer?

MLS.com is for America's largest real estate website, with MLS standard for Multiple Listing Service.

 

[sw1tcher]

The announcement comes just a few days ahead of the new MLS season which will see Apple TV once again serving as the worldwide home for MLS streaming with MLS Season Pass. MLS Season Pass is available in over 100 countries, with pricing in the U.S. set at $14.99 per month or $99 for the full season. Apple TV+ subscribers receive a discounted price of $12.99 per month or $79 for the full season.

Is this like those MacRumors ads for Best Buy sales where you have to pay $49.99/yr for a My Best Buy Plus or $179.99/yr for a My Best Buy Total membership to save $50 off the price of a MacBook? 🤣

 

[GeoStructural]

Tacky when they do this.

But these ones look really good imo. Especially the one with darker yellow and the red one, the contrast is very attractive.

 

[Piplodocus]

The US has soccer teams? Who knew! 😜

 

[roar08]

MLS.com is for America's largest real estate website, with MLS standard for Multiple Listing Service.

I know what MLS is. I think it's stupid when people repeat the last letter of an acronym like "ATM machine", or in this case "MLS soccer". And just because MLS.com is taken it doesn't mean someone with half a creative brain couldn't have come up with something less inane.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

The Inter Miami ones will fly off the shelves thanks to Messi.

 

[ninetyCent]

Thanks captain obvious. I know what MLS is. I think it's stupid when people repeat the last letter of an acronym like "ATM machine", or in this case "MLS soccer". And just because MLS.com is taken it doesn't mean someone with half a creative brain couldn't have come up with something less inane.

like what?

 

[drumcat]

MLS had its 25th anniversary recently, and the WC is coming in '26 to NA. The jokes about soccer in the US are so old and pathetic...

 

[Veinticinco]

Thanks captain obvious. I know what MLS is. I think it's stupid when people repeat the last letter of an acronym like "ATM machine", or in this case "MLS soccer". And just because MLS.com is taken it doesn't mean someone with half a creative brain couldn't have come up with something less inane.

"PIN number" is the one that really annoys me.

 

[robgreene]

I know what MLS is. I think it's stupid when people repeat the last letter of an acronym like "ATM machine", or in this case "MLS soccer". And just because MLS.com is taken it doesn't mean someone with half a creative brain couldn't have come up with something less inane.

What would you have chosen?

And to be fair, your original question was:

Wait, the MLS web site is really mlssoccer.com? Major League Soccer soccer?

This doesn't sound like sarcasm. It sounds like surprise. And given the large number of global users on this site, The likelihood of someone not understanding the nuance of America having multiple large entities with similar initials is high, which means it may not be so "obvious".

 

[ateslik]

But these ones look really good imo. Especially the one with darker yellow and the red one, the contrast is very attractive.

agreed. Nice designs and my soccer loving son is definitely gonna want one.

 

[ohthehorror]

Uhhhh…. It’s football…

 

[szw-mapple fan]

What would you have chosen?

Maybe mls.game, which is available. MLS actually also owns majorleaguesoccer.com, which redirects to mlssoccer.com. Writing it out in full is much better than what they have as their main domain imo.

 

[surfzen21]

Colorways, the heartbeat of America.

 

[devinher]

I think this is brilliant. I'm not really a soccer fan but my sense is there's a segment of the population that will LOVE these - particularly if a few of their favorite players are seen wearing them. Sports and identity have always been a powerful combo.

 

[BellSystem]

ick reminds me of the Nextel NASCAR phones.

 

[robgreene]

Maybe mls.game, which is available. MLS actually also owns majorleaguesoccer.com, which redirects to mlssoccer.com. Writing it out in full is much better than what they have as their main domain imo.

Fair suggestions. I'll provide a counterargument for each;

MLS.game was not available when the league was formed in '96, and not sure the world's top corporations consider anything other than .com or .org - you definitely see tech startups embracing .io and a variety of other extensions being adopted, but I would imagine MLS would view .game as a bigger hit on their credibility as a league.

Majorleaguesoccer.com would actually be quite appropriate, but the name lengthy and opens itself up to more opportunities for misspellings. Typically, when coming up with website names, less is more.

I'm not arguing for MLSsoccer.com as a great solution. It's unfortunate that the real estate industry beat them to it. I think your most likely scenario is a future league rebrand that includes a name change, thereby jumpstarting a domain name change as well.

 

[AppleUser2]

MLS had its 25th anniversary recently, and the WC is coming in '26 to NA. The jokes about soccer in the US are so old and pathetic...

Football (which is what the rest of the world calls it) is over 130 years old in the UK. Really pleased the US is getting into it more and more - long may it last!

 

[Supercyborgninja]

American football is still a pretty old, boring brand but it’ll hopefully get better. Miami will be fun to see but as a Chicagoan, I still can’t watch every match.

Oh and it’s football not soccer, NFL football is a boring blood sport.

 

[coolfactor]

It's nice to see creative designs rather than Apple's boring conservative styles of late.

But is the Beats hardware improving year after year, or do they continue selling the same hardware for years?

I know there are occasional updates, but seems rare.

 

[TJFDenver]

Where’s my Powerbeats pro 2 please

 

[timborama]

Where do I find the ‘yawn’ emoji?