Author Archives: John

lead and you…part two

no, not recess - peanut butter! The media circus has come and left town since we last considered the impact on youth powersports as a result of the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s interpretation of how much lead should kids be allowed to eat. (Hint: none.)

Malcolm Smith’s protest drew the attention of SoCal’s news outlets and a nice mention in USA Today, along with links on bike blogs throughout the land. Which got me to thinking, how much lead is too much? For instance, working my way through the University of Florida included a stint at the Gainesville Sun. This was at the dawn of what would briefly be known as cold type, or the sunset of hot type. Continue reading →

sema adds channel…pwspts is in

web-powersport Just in time for 2009. SEMA – the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association – has added a powersports and utility vehicles channel to its massive automotive collection of OE and aftermarket exhibitors.

Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of communications and events, said that “The Powersports and Utility Vehicle marketplace is of growing importance to our core buyers. Manufacturers in this area will discover a slew of potential buyers. Continue reading →

the evolution of the revolution

cycle world's for sale: along with the rest of the periodical industry Last week’s AdAge announcement of Hachette Filipacchi’s decision to put their enthusiast titles, e.g. Cycle World, on the block sent another round of chills down the spines of print purveyors. That spicy tidbit was followed by AdAge’s own go-to guy Bob Garfield’s rant on the nuclear meltdown of print in one form or another.

The speed with which print journalism is being rendered obsolete is as baffling as it is breathtaking. Because I remember when Nat Geo used to credit film type – Ektachrome, Kodachrome, etc. – next to their images, my interest in print’s place and what’s coming next is more than passing. Continue reading →

don’t look now, but…

loading up the belgium eye camera News from north of the border includes Canadian Rob Spence’s plans to secretly tape (sic) documentaries using his newly developed bionic eyeball, which replaces the one that was shot up in a childhood hunting accident and removed three years ago.

Turns out, Rob’s a fan of the nin-in-nin-na-na-na series “The Six Million Dollar Man” which featured Lee Majors running in sloooow-mowwww-shuuun but not talking that way. I’ve always wondered why that was.

Anyway, Rob wants to open everyone’s eyes, as it were, to the spread of urban surveillance, which in and of itself ain’t so funny. So the next time you’re in the mall shopping with the wife and kids and the hairs on the back of your neck begin to tingle because, you know, it feels like someone’s staring at you. Well, it’s probably because someone is.

Thanks to imaginginfo.com for this update.

common sense…just isn’t

free the tykes! let 'me ride, we say Cycle World editor David Edwards bells the cat with his web preview of May’s editorial on the unintended consequences of the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s ban on lead-containing products used by children.

Meanwhile, offroad star and industry icon Malcolm Smith has scheduled a media event/protest/back at ya for Thursday, March 19, at his dealership to highlight the problem faced by hundreds of dealers and thousands of enthusiasts nationwide as a result of the lead ban. Continue reading →

it’s in the bag – right?

from crumpler (uk) this stylish accessory stands out We don’t think of ourselves as being in the bag biz, and Lord knows in this industry there’s no shortage of backpacks with which to haul your remote office to the middle of the desert and back.

On the other hand, sometimes you’ll find yourself in a public venue that doesn’t particularly value the Explorer scout image of a pedestrian hiking a trade show’s endless aisles in search of stuff to haul home and one more badge in the process to appreciate the role style plays as we all engage in individual brand management. Put another way, dork equals dork in every language.

Crumpler’s a British outfit with a really nifty line of accessory sacks and packs of all colors and sizes. Stylishly ergonomic, the multiple lines are just the thing for breaking from the pack and finding a better solution at the same time. And we can say without fear of contradiction, they’ve got one of the more intriguing Flash driven sites – heavy on the overkill maybe, but a definite step up and great to explore if you’ve got a day or two to kill.

chrome bags has a distinctive line of purpose-built backpacks Closer to home, and a bit more edgy, is the spec-design line of hard core messenger bags from San Fran’s Chrome Bags shop out West. Form follows function as you’ll discover – built for urban messengers and quickly finding a new following amidst folk who don’t dodge inner city taxis for a living, Chrome delivers edge and purpose at the same time.

Their smart site is a primo example of dual content commercial/social integration, great for trekking around in to see what else is going on in the universe.

dog eat dog? – maybe not

mij's the industry leader in recruitment and hiring News from Indy – Alex Baylon, creator of the original powersports career destination MIJ – Motorcycle Industry Jobs – on word that show producer Advanstar is cranking up their own job listing service is weighing his options.

Our view is that it’s a free market web world out there, and carbon footprint doesn’t necessarily translate into online heft. People read what they’re familiar with, and corporate size alone doesn’t mean market domination. Craft counts, so does knowledge – and the two aren’t necessarily attributes of a cubicle keyboard address.

bad p.r. – bad, bad p.r.

Now comes Southwest Airline with a nifty promo featuring Sports Illustrated swim more or less suit model and covergirl Bar Refaeli giganto-sized as a plane wrap. Cool. My fantasy is to have a window seat in row 2 right – about – there.

This just after the same airline tried to toss Kyla Ebert off a San Diego to Tuscon hop for wearing considerably more. See how that went over on MSNBC. Guys, get yr message sorted out and hit me back.

source: 5 blogs before lunch

1984 – a superbowl like no other

Twenty-five years ago an upstart “personal computer” company in Cupertino, CA, ran an ad that bet the entire year’s ad budget on one buy and one production. After the spot was bought and the ad produced, the board of directors unanimous opposition nearly resulted in its cancellation.

The result is consumer marketing history. If you had to pick one broadcast effort that caught lightning in a bottle, it would be “1984”.

Long enshrined in the advertising hall of fame, the creative product of agency chiat/day and director Ridley Scott’s darkly fertile imagination – obvious in hindsight when watching 1982’s cult classic “Bladerunner” – is still being viewed today, as fresh as the day it first aired.

Officially this was a one-shot air date. In reality, the cost per view is now measured in nano-dollars, thanks to the internet, and the iconic content is the holy grail of marketeers in search of breakthrough, viral and recall.

It would be five years before I had a Mac in front of me, a beige 512k brick at a Houston agency.

That year, Tampa’s first Superbowl was played just across the bridge and featured my favorite team back when I was still concerned with outcome – the gritty bad boy “Just Win, Baby” Raiders of Stabler and Sistrunk and Casper fame – clocked the ‘Skins on the arm of Jim Plunkett and the running of Marcus Allen. On Sunday it’ll all play out again, but safe to say there will never be another “1984”.