Shokz Uses Open Ear Technology to Unleash Horror Experience

Most headphones block the world out. But this Halloween, Shokz, the pioneer of open-ear audio technology, is set to redefine the horror experience by inviting the world in.

In a ground breaking partnership, Shokz has collaborated with global creative agency Anomaly to launch 'The Haunted Listen,' a unique and immersive sensory horror event that leverages the unparalleled ambient awareness of the new Shokz OpenFit 2+ open-ear headphones to create a product benefit demonstration unlike any other. The OpenFit 2+ are premium open ear headphones meticulously engineered for active users who demand exceptional audio fidelity while maintaining complete situational awareness.

This distinctive open-ear design is the pivotal element that unlocks the profound and unsettling terror at the heart of 'The Haunted Listen.' Red Riding Hood. Retold. Twisted. Alive in the Woods.

'The Haunted Listen' offers a unique and immersive horror experience, a modern and chilling reinterpretation of Little Red Riding Hood. This specially-crafted narrative, penned by a Hollywood screenwriter, is delivered through the Shokz OpenFit 2+. Set in the depths of an Eastern European forest, the story subtly infiltrates listeners' ears while acutely amplifying the authentic sounds of the surrounding environment - every rustle, whisper, or distant growl - to create an unsettling, all-encompassing horror experience.

To broaden the brand's reach into key lifestyle and cultural segments beyond traditional sport, Shokz handpicked a select group of prominent creators from Germany, France, and the UK, chosen specifically for their influence and diverse fields of interest. German fitness creator Barry Hammerschmidt, French humourist Nam’s and UK entrepreneur and fitness creator Natalee Barnett were all invited to a secret location in the woods to enjoy' 'The Haunted Listen' experience and rigorously test the brand's leading open-ear technology in a new, unexpected context.

"With the OpenFit 2+, we've engineered open ear technology headphones that seamlessly connect you with both what you’re listening to and your immediate environment," states Leon Du, international sales manager. "Anomaly’s brilliant concept powerfully demonstrates how being truly open to your surroundings can be both incredibly liberating for fitness pursuits and utterly terrifying when it comes to horror. This is an immersive experience that only our open-ear technology can genuinely deliver."

"Most tech brands focus on what happens inside the headphones. Our partnership with Shokz lets us play with the space outside them,” says Marco Lemcke, group creative director at Anomaly. “Horror was perfect for that. We all know that moment when you’re deep in a horror story and suddenly hear a creak in the floorboards or a door slam behind you.... you jump! With Shokz, those real-world sounds don’t break the story, they amplify it.”

“For Halloween, our goal was to blur the line between sound, story, and reality. By turning the forest itself into part of the audio story, we transformed open-ear listening into a living, breathing horror experience you don’t just hear, you feel.” adds Katharina Schmitt, creative director at Anomaly. “The entire forest was wired with spatial audio speakers and custom sound cues synced perfectly with the story playing through the headphones, so the creators couldn’t tell what was real. And they didn’t. Some froze. Some screamed. One even tore off their headphones in panic. That’s when we knew it worked.”

The campaign was brought to life by Stink, together with director Anna Van Der Welde and composer UFO95, who created a bespoke soundscape to enhance the experience of the story and its surroundings.