Dee Snider Twists Eardrums for Sennheiser Hearables

Dee Snider, who fronted Twisted Sister in the ’80s, lets the heavy metal decibels fly in a :60 hyping Sennheiser’s speech-enhancing earbuds.

This one’s no quiet riot. Unable to pick up the nuances of a dinner conversation, the Reagan-era rocker sparks a shriek-fest duet of epic proportions with actor/singer Steve Cooke that shatters wine glasses in a posh eatery:

STEVE: How’s the fish?

DEE: What?

STEVE: How is the fish?

DEE: Huh?

STEVE (at max volume): I said, HOW IS THE FIIIIISH?!

DEE (like he’s slaying Madison Square Garden in 1985): It’s a little bit DRRRRYYY YYY YYY YYY YYYYYYYY!

Snider also mishears “broccoli” as “colonoscopy.” Ouch! Thankfully, a Sennheiser rep arrives to restore order, because the guests and waitstaff weren’t gonna take it anymore. 

“While rock stars might still have the pipes to cut through all the clamor of a noisy restaurant, they’re just like us and will struggle to follow conversations in challenging environments,” says Jeff Marois, ACD at agency Terri & Sandy, which developed the campaign with director Nalle Sjöblad. “Dee and his counterpart were the perfect choices to highlight the frustration that can come from trying to carry on a normal conversation when speech intelligibility is compromised.”

All in all, it’s a fun, jaw-jangling nostalgia play targeting folks 45-70.

Since decades of singing with a loud band can cause hearing issues, Dee’s presence feels less forced than some classic rocker ad appearances. Recent campaigns with Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and punk diva Patti Smith fell flat. (Not so for Michael Bolton. No matter the brand, he always makes a perfect pitch.)

CREDITS

CLIENT: Sennheiser
Group Vice President Consumer Hearing: Martin Grieder
Global Head of Consumer Marketing: Anne-Claire Costes
Head of Content and Campaign Management: Jessika Petrusch
International Product Manager: Alexandra Produnova

LEAD CREATIVE & STRATEGIC AGENCY: Terri & Sandy
Co-Founder & Co-CEO: Terri Meyer
Co-Founder & Co-CEO: Sandy Greenberg
Associate Creative Director, Art: Keegan Sanford
Associate Creative Director, Copy: Jeff Marois
Art Director: Joie Ha
Copywriter: Charlie Malone
Executive Producer: Chris Lenz     
Head of Strategy: Tracy Chapman
Integrated Account Director: Dani Blevins
Account Supervisor: Matthew Klesel
Senior Account Executive: Basia Osborne
Director of Business Affairs: Alice Isner

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Spark & Riot
Director: Nalle Sjöblad
Director of Photography: Max Smeds
Executive Producer: Ana De Diego
Producer: Max Simpson
Producer: Henkka Hämäläinen

EDITORIAL: Cut + Run NY
Editor: John Grover
Executive Producer: Lauren Hertzberg
Senior Producer: Eytan Gutman
Assistant Editor: Evan Bahnsen

COLOR: Grade One Color 
Colorist: Sarrah Wilkman
Post Production Producer: Mikko Savinainen                                          

AUDIO POST: Sound Lounge
Audio Mixer: Tom Jucarone            
Audio Post Producer: Dana Villallreal