Last month, a commercial for Beats By Dre riled up Seattleites by portraying a mob of football fans (curiously decked out in Seahawks colors) as a ravenous, zombie-like hooligan horde, out to devour the flesh of San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick. To drown out the noise, the QB slips on some Beats By Dre headphones.
The thinly veiled jab at the 12th Man’s record breaking crowd volume now has an unwitting counterpoint.
Duracell released a commercial spotlighting Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman, the first legally deaf offensive player in the NFL. Coleman tells his story of growing up at a disadvantage, working hard to fulfill his dreams despite his hearing condition. He ends his story saying, “Now I’m here, with the loudest fans in the NFL cheering me on, and I can hear them all.”
While Duracell’s marketing manager Jeff Jarret claims the spot wasn’t originally connected to the Kaepernick ad, Ad Age is reporting he now hopes to get the commercial in the upcoming NFC Championship broadcast in light of the rivalry, hoping it serves as something of a rebuttal to Beats By Dre.