There was a time when you wouldn’t even think of wearing headphones from a brand other than Sony. As the creator of the walkman, they became the pioneering fathers of mobile music. But like anything else in technology, competitors clone your successes while improving your shortcomings, taking a sizable bite of your market share. Before long, you can find yourself looking up at the very companies who were formerly in your rearview mirror. Such was the case with Sony’s headphone offerings by the mid 2000’s, particularly the newly established action sports market which had become a massive revenue stream within the category. Sony had fallen behind the curve, losing out to rivals with a subpar product being swallowed up thanks to superior marketing. The challenge was to show that not only were Sony headphones still the best in sound quality, but that they were just as capable of complementing the highly-stylized lifestyles of millennials.