CES 2014 Las Vegas — Monster is moving into the TV business.
The audio company kicked off its 35th anniversary celebration during International CES with its usual cadre of celebrity appearances, bolstered by the announcement of new partnerships, new power products and, of course, new headphones.
With a nod to its legacy, head monster Noel Lee said the company also plans to bring back its old cables and old logo.
Actor Nick Cannon took the stage in support of his NCredible headphones line as well as a new line of DJ headphones known as SKAM.
“Kids don’t want guitars anymore,” Cannon quipped. “They want DJ equipment and professional headphones.”
Monster and NCredible will be teaming for two DJ-themed reality TV shows, and they will feature “more than just product placement,” Cannon said. “We’ve been there, done that … Now it’s about creating content [and] offering something more tangible.”
In other partnerships news, Monster announced it will team with Adidas for two headphones, known as Adidas Originals, that will launch in the spring. It reinforced its partnership with UFC with a line of Octagon headphones that will ship later this year, and it has teamed with the World Poker Tour to become its official headphone provider. Card players will wear will wear Monster headphones during tournaments, and Monster is readying its own celebrity-studded tournament that will be televised on Fox Sports in 2015.
In the headphones realm, Monster is strengthening its concentration on fashion-focused headphones for female consumers with the addition of its Diamondz limited-edition headphones ($329 suggested retail) and Inspiration Lite and Inspiration in-ear models ($270 and $169 suggested retail, respectively). These will ship in the second quarter.
Capping off the conference was an appearance by Shaquille O’Neal in support of Monster’s “Size Does Matter” campaign. O’Neal, who kissed Lee on the head and called him a “wonderful, sexy human being,” introduced the flat SuperStar micro-speaker ($129, Q2 shipping), said to be only 2 inches high, and the PowerCard Turbo ($69.95), a portable battery with three times capacity as the initial PowerCard.
Monster will unveil on Tuesday a limited-edition Lamborghini — only nine are being built — for which it has provided the audio technology.
