The 2008 homage to the cult classic On Any Sunday takes place this Wednesday, the 21st. Organized by the Orange County Dualies and with TR as the lead sponsor, the event benefits the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, Regal Big 6 Theater in Newport Beach. Procrastinators alert: tiks are nearly gone so hurry on over to the web site and pick yours up.
With all the current industry buzz about branding, you’d think we’d see a bit more imagination. Like this urban “squareheads” event by artist and photog Dan Bergeron at Fauxreel, part of a sleek, sophisticated effort from Dentsu/Canada for Vespa/Canada (our work>vespa S>guerilla) that’s as entertaining as it is smart.
Take a while to camp out at Dentsu’s site and don’t miss a peek at their New Media work for Vespa (our work>vespa>new media). When the Harley owner says he’s ditching his ride for a Vespa you can’t help but smile.
Oh yeah, scooter sales are up 300 percent over ’07 – that’s the power of unfettered and focused professional creative.
Despite all the pitfalls, sometimes being in advertising beats a job at the vets taking a cat’s temperature. You can see more – much more – at Brazil’s Cabana Cachaca.
In a not totally unexpected development, former Global president Frank Esposito was uncerimoniously sacked by the new management group led by original Custom Chrome founder Nace Panzica.
Esposito, here with Cycle World ad manager Paul LaBella at the start of 2007’s Cycle World Trek, was recruited in 2002 to steer CC and its subsidiaries, including Jammer and Motorcycle Stuff, into calmer waters. That didn’t happen.
Esposito says he was escorted from the Morgan Hill headquarters by security with no advance notice of the elimination of his position. Apparantly, new management wanted to send a message, although the purpose is unclear, as is the future fortune of a reconstituted yet again Global Motorsports.
We think these ads will keep running until everyone’s a customer. That goes for the stupid lizard, too.
Last month’s North American brand ranking by research firm Millward Brown included at least one surprise in their latest Top 10 list. We’ll get to that in a minute, after first mentioning that the powersports aftermarket has of a sudden become fascinated with branding, its potential value, and how best to leverage the intangible.
Press releases and editorial roundups are ripe these days with pregnant references to “growing building expanding” the brand, without, it seems, much thought as to the desired goals or the means of achievement. Continue reading
Now comes word that freelance shooting star Joe Bonnello’s back in the hospital as a result of neck surgery reportedly gone awry. Fellow photographer Stephan Legrand’s set up a PayPal site for fans of Joe’s unique vision and incredible depth of work, necessary because the passion that drives the best in the business isn’t compensated by the bean counters who treat editorial art as a commodity.
If you don’t know the name, you can’t help but to have seen his work, particularly as a chronicler of the motocross action genre. One of the top three rules of action still photography is the ability to impart a sense of motion into what otherwise would be a static staged shot, and Joe did it effortlessly.
Life imitates art – literally, as it turns out.
The cats at Quad Cam Bastards were first out of the gate with their dead on parody (above) of Willie G’s latest what the hell is this all about “Screw It, Lets Ride” marketing come-on. You’ve got to wonder what the kiddie kopyriters at longtime HD agency Carmichael Lynch were thinking when they pitched this bozo campaign to TMC. Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.
I can picture the scene where, hunched over a highly polished mahogany bar with their Stella Artois avec slice, they busied themselves by channeling “Hells Angels On Wheels” as a totally out of gas inspiration for this smarmy Ken and Barbie Stick It To The Man offering. Right on! Power to the people! Quittin’ time! When, as expected, this latest theme gets skewered on The Daily Show, you’ll better understand the down side of viral.
In all fairness – we want to make sure we understand where the scorn should be directed – this is the vision of former GM/Pontiac CMO Mark-Hans Richer, whose inspiration was feedback gleaned from “road research” of customers. While with Pontiac, Richer coordinated the Oprah Winfrey audience car giveaway; that pr coup was what led to his hire as HD’s first CMO, albeit with a marketing budget one-tenth of what he controlled at Pontiac.
According to a May 6 piece by Ad Age, Mr. Richer said research with “real people in the real world is probably more meaningful than getting 12 people in a room” for a focus group. He didn’t pre-test the ads because the work reflects how Harley’s customers think and feel. Hmmm. Not so many of us as he thinks, apparantly. I have to wonder, how long has Mr. Richer been riding?
Lets be clear: Marlon Brando was dangerous as Johnny when he responded to the rhetorical, “What are you rebelling against?” line from The Wild Ones with “Whattaya got?”. Uh, but that was so last century. Back when three channels of black and white tv ownership was an exclusive club and over a half century before random drive-bys were moved to a few inches worth of mention deep inside the metro section.
This massively out of touch with the base attempt to reverse the irreversable strikes out on all counts. For decades HD’s politely pushed away any notion of – shock shock horror horror – a connection between outlaw gangs and their iconic product sold to the masses. With “Screw It,” that hypocrisy’s finally laid to rest, albeit a day late to actually cash in on the connection.
The premium promo is hysterical – just visit your local dealer and walk out with your very own limited edition “Screw It!” doo-rag! You heard right, tough guy and tough gal bikers – an Officially Licensed HD “Screw It!” bandana of your very own. Now who wouldn’t be proud to get caught profiling with that Made In China rag wrapped around their dome. And as if nobody gets the snicker effect of the euphamism “Screw It” in lieu of it’s graphic inspiration.
This – and I can’t use the adjective “creative” in all good conscience – effort, minimal at best, was approved for use by HD, which sorta’ gives an insight into how they view their troubled market. I remember when AMF bailed them out, and when the Reagan administration bailed them out again with a historic one-time only tariff slap down of metric heavyweights. Nobody was sneering then, that’s for sure.
“Screw It – Lets Ride” Really Sucks. Our prediction is that the laughingstock factor will actually have a measurable negative effect. Especially as the readers of dirt bike pub Racer X wonder what the weirded out insert that falls in their lap from the latest issue’s all about.
Look for one, possibly more, progressive lid maker to institute online ordering of highly personalized graphics, and perhaps limited dimensional mods, on basic models. Nike offers online individualized shoe options now. It’s a way to recover otherwise lost revenue while protecting dealer margins and marginalizing independent online resellers.
There’s serious discussion, if not outright implementation, of a breakout dealer show. Among some of the top tier exhibitors there’s palpable dissatisfaction with Advan$tar’s Dealer Expo management and priorities.
What’ll it take for TMC to survive over the long haul? One word – scooters. Not another Topper, no, God no, but a fully fledged family of domestically designed durables for boomers, commuters and high schoolers anxious over gas prices and global warming. We see totally separate badging that’s identified with but not totally divorced from the iconic bar and shield’s heritage. Scooters kicking ass? Could happen. A million units annually? Why not?