Posted on 05/04/2008 4:29:56 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Forget inflation, the economy, your unpaid bills, that pink slip in your locker.
An edgy new Harley-Davidson ad campaign reflects on today's difficult times, finishing with the tag line, "So screw it, let's ride."
The campaign, launched this week with a full-page ad in USA Today, also reminds people that the Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker and the nation in general have endured plenty of pain - and not just lately.
"Over the last 105 years in the saddle, we've seen wars, conflicts, depression, recession, resistance and revolutions," the ad says. "We've watched a thousand hand-wringing pundits disappear in our rear-view mirror. But every time, this country has come out stronger than before. Because chrome and asphalt put distance between you and whatever the world can throw at you."
Harley sales in the U.S. fell nearly 13% in the most recent fiscal quarter as consumers felt economic jitters and closed their checkbooks. Caught in a troubled economy, the maker of Fat Boy and Softail motorcycles said last month it was cutting 730 jobs, including hundreds at its Milwaukee headquarters and Wisconsin factories.
The job cuts are the deepest that Harley has made since at least the 1980s. While taking them seriously, the company also is moving ahead with marketing that reminds people that tough times don't last forever.
"If 105 years have proved one thing, it's that fear sucks and it doesn't last long," the ad says. "So screw it, let's ride."
The new campaign hits home for longtime Harley rider Ben Berlin, who has been using motorcycles to get away from it all for 60 years.
"A ride is something that mellows you out. Your troubles are still there, but you sort of forget them for a while," said Berlin, 82, of Mequon.
The ad campaign has a good message, said Berlin, who describes his rides as therapeutic.
Negating doomsayers
The campaign attempts to negate some of the doomsayers, said Mark-Hans Richer, Harley senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
"We felt that we had a unique ability, and maybe even a responsibility," to counter some of the dark mood out there, Richer said. "And we felt there was some value in saying something that many of our riders were thinking."
Besides USA Today, the "We don't do fear" ad will appear in Sports Illustrated, Military Times, NASCAR Scene and other publications.
The phrase "So screw it, let's ride," might be offensive to some people. But it fits Harley's rebel image.
"I think it's a very clever ad campaign," said Dennis Garrett, an associate professor of marketing at Marquette University.
"It's also very opportunistic in that it's trying to take advantage of the tension that a lot of folks are feeling now," Garrett added.
The ads might not convince non-motorcyclists to buy a bike. But it could boost morale among the Harley faithful, according to advertising executives not involved in the campaign.
With 105 years of practice, Harley has become very good at knowing its target audience, said Kevin Brandt, creative strategist at Core Creative Inc., a Milwaukee advertising and public relations firm.
"They have a great way of capturing the mind-set of their audience and speaking directly to them," Brandt said. "With brands like Harley, that are firmly entrenched in people's lives, there's an emotional connection that other companies don't share. Harley riders feel that connection and want an interactive relationship with the company, other than just riding the bike."
Interactive site
The campaign has an interactive Web site, Harley-Davidson.com/screwit. Soon, riders will be able to share their personal testimonies on the site, which will include dots on a map showing where they're from.
The tone of the campaign is uniquely Harley, Garrett said.
"You could mask the identity of the company on this ad, show it to people, and 100% of them would still know it's them," he said.
Berlin has bought a new motorcycle, trading in his previous bike, nearly every year for the past 15 years.
He has owned Harleys since the mid-1940s when he learned to ride while in the U.S. Army. Not long after that, he worked as a test rider for the motorcycle company - practically a dream job for someone passionate about bikes.
Berlin spent most of his career in automotive sales, hardly a stress-free environment.
"I have been through quite a few recessions, believe me," he said. "It crossed my mind, very slightly once, to sell the bike. Then I just put that thought right out of my head."
I couldn’t bring myself to ride a bike called a softtail. As a matter of fact, my Shovelhead stroker doesn’t have rear suspension or that new fangled electric start either. I have a buddy who’s into the older beemer’s and I keep bugging him to let me “customize” one of his bikes.
I learned the tricks and still remember quite a few of them.
Gas has hit $4/gal here (Upstate NY) and we'll see $5 before the summer's out, I bet. Might drop in October for the elections, but who knows... and I bet we see $6 or $7 in 2009.
Thing is, you have to buy a LOT of gas before the difference in gas mileage pays for the Harley. ;-)
That said, I'd do exactly the same thing.
The best looking bike Harley makes is a sprnger softail. But alas this boy is toooooo large .... this 6’5” frame has never set well in that saddle. The old heritage softail has ben relgated to my child bride. 5’4” and she is comfortable for a 600 mile day ride.
My new (last year)) Screaming Eagle Road King has the extra torque and height/length ratio to let this 300 lb boy ride in comfrort and style. 600 miles and never fatiqued. Live to ride!!
Hooligan ping.
That's a gorgeous bike, and yes it packs the extra punch for making those long miles a pleasure! I'm envious... it'll be a while before I graduate to that class of machine...
You're absolutely right. I hadn't figured on that many miles each day just to work and back.
OTOH, I'm moving farther out into the country this summer, and I'll have a 22mi-each-way commute, meaning 220 miles per week, so I'll be in that league as well. Huzzah! A good excuse REASON to get a new higher-MPG bike!
I know of two people, one that was killed, and another very very seriously injured on bikes in accidents which were not their fault, accidents in which they had no chance to avoid their fate. The roads are full of drunks, illegal aliens, and distracted drivers and if I have to encounter them, I like to be surrounded by some airbags and a metal frame.
I can only say two things.
#1 is - Head on a swivel.
You're right that there are a lot of people on the road that a motorcycle rider needs to beware of.
#2 is - If it's your time and G*d calls you home it doesn't matter if you have 2 feet of metal with airbags all the way around.
You will go if the good Lord calls you home.
My biggest fear is dying on the sofa, watching TV.
Look, I'm all for managing risks, but you gotta get out and do some stuff.
If the good Lord sees fit to call you home, at least you did some stuff.
Amen! North Texas PGR here. Riding rocks! Wish I had more time for it.
Funny thing ... we almost sold the Heritage Softail with the idea I would buy the “geezer” Screamin Eagle Ultra Classic. That way the two of us could ride in “geezer” comfort.
But alas ... at age 54 I still have issues ...in my mind the Ultra is an old fart’s scooter. (pass the viagra,Vern. Or is it metamucil?... I get the two mixed up .... can’t tell if I’m coming or going)
But I digress. The dealer convinced us to let child bride ride the softail (11,00 miles), and I could push the old man image aside and take the Road King instead and we would live in happily married HOG bliss for the rest of our life. Very Very Very Smart Dealer.
She now wants the new Screaming Eagle Springer.
Oh dear, I'm 56... but nowhere near reaching "geezer" status yet. I played rock-n-roll guitar with my bar band Sat night for 3 hours (and loaded/unloaded/setup/drove without help), stacked cordwood during the day before and day after, and still got in a half-hour ride at the end. A little stiff and sore, though, to be sure... ain't 25 any more. But "geezer" is still held off for a few more years.
> (pass the viagra,Vern. Or is it metamucil?... I get the two mixed up .... can’t tell if I’m coming or going)
Yeah, I do hear that. ;-)
Enjoy the rides -- sounds like you and child bride are doing just fine! Now if I could just convince my better half to keep riding... but our daughter loves to go riding, so it'll all work out okay.
You can have guns, lotsa ammo and a motorcycle - I do. ;)
Are you still riding as much these days?
That’s what I like to hear ~ East Texas is quite a ride.
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