Stereo equipment ads are usually factual and do little more than list the technical specifications next to a utilitarian image of the product. Ads for headphones in the 1970s and 1980s followed this format for the most part. There might have been the occasional celebrity endorsement or image of happy people listening to phones, but little that was at all memorable or even visually interesting.

The 1990s began a new trend of more creative advertising. Technical specifications were still important, but the consumer market became so crowded that advertisers began developing ads with techniques that were commonly used in other industries to distinguish products, such as brand image, inventive graphics and catchy slogans.

This fanciful departure from the norm is a "lifestyle" ad in which the equipment (headphones) is shown as improving a stone-faced disposition. It appeals to readers with humor and attitude. The graphic employs a "Gutenberg diagonal" layout to create a simple progression effect. The dramatic presentation punctuates a simple selling proposition, which is a play on words: listen to headphones and listen to your head - a directive to buy this product because "your head will thank you for" the great sound. Sony continued this theme in 1996 with its "They Make Rock Come Alive" campaign which grafted headphones onto the presidential ears of the Mt. Rushmore Memorial.

Commentary c. 1998, HeadWize.
Graphic c. 1993, Sony Corporation.