Jack Butland, the 19-year old goalkeeper for the Great Britain
soccer team, was lucky enough to get a free pair of the headphones,
which normally retail for around $400. He tweeted a couple of days
ago, "love my GB Beats by Dre. [The reps] are around. I'm sure
they'll bump into you guys soon."
British tennis player Lara Robson has also tweeted about them,
according to The Guardian. The tweets have since been removed, and
it is unclear whether athletes have been asked to refrain from
wearing the headphones.
Diver Tom Daley, one of Team GB's golden boys, has also been
seen wearing the headphones -- a special edition bearing the Union
Jack flag design.
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps has been pictured wearing Beats by
Dr. Dre headphones at the 2012 games, and in the past, so it is
unclear whether he has personally been part of the ambush campaign.
The Aquatic Center at the Olympic Park in London is a very noisy
venue, and many swimmers have been wearing headphones to block out
the noise from fans in the 17,500 seats as they try to focus on
their performance.
The International Olympic Committee did not answer requests for
comment by the time of posting, but yesterday put out a statement
in defense of Rule 40, which prevents athletes from mentioning
brands that aren't official sponsors on social media, in response
to the #wedemandchange campaign by U.S. athletes demanding a
less restrictive approach to marketing around the games.
The statement said, "Corporate sponsorship provides essential
support for competing athletes and contributes to the overall
success of the Games. Put simply, without the support of our
official commercial partners, the Games would not be able to
happen."