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."
HOG is going to be in for a rough ride for the next 5 years. A growing export market will help - but that that much.
When the posers and wannabes decide they can't afford that POS Softail, things are headed south.
What is HELOC?
I don't find the ad all that edgy. I would have done something like this:
Sell the house.
Sell the car.
Sell the kids.
Sell the wife.
Keep the bike.
I take it you don't like Softails. ;-) I favor the Sportster myself, but I guess I'm a traditionalist.
I don't get a newspaper but out here in the sticks "nine column inches" doesn't happen for anything, much less Harleys. I pay attention to what's posted on the local dealership's website, though. And they're running a lot of "special/reduced" lately.
Hell, if you unload all of the first four, you can probably afford to trade up to a NEW bike!
I don’t own a bike but look at it this way: at $15,000.00, heck look what toys are being bought for much more and used LESS, boats for one thing, travel trailers (”toy boxes”) another. Ah, I can hear it now, “Yes, but a FAMILY can use the boat and toy box”, yeah right, for the first few months, maybe first or second vacation then the boat sits gathering leaves and the toy boxes start deteriorating where the water seeped in on all that particle board...LOL!
Keep your bikes! Besides, we NEED Patriot Riders, when I see a Harley, that’s AMERICAN PRIDE rollin’ there. You bet, keep on through the fog Harley, it’ll clear up after a bit.
I guess that makes me a heretic.
Not to start a religious war, but I traded in the POS Softail for a BMW.
(If only the passing lane had a passing lane).
Further blasphemy: I believe Wild Turkey is far superior to Jack Daniels.
If Gas expenses keep going up there will be a HUGE market for motorcycles of all brands, including Harleys.
No religious war here. My first bike was an '81 Yamaha 850cc (3-cyl) sportster. I got no room to talk. ;-)
> Further blasphemy: I believe Wild Turkey is far superior to Jack Daniels.
No problem, I liked 'em both, when I drank whiskey. These days I drink tequila. When I drink, which is seldomer and seldomer. Can't seem to find the time any more. Dang.
Then again, I don't drink and ride, and I'd rather ride than drink.
Guys are putting their money into another investment. I’m getting reports that people are buying all the guns and ammunition they can afford.
I live out in the country.
"Edged"? What's "edged"? ;-)
I'd almost say "What's a lawn?", but I've heard about those. It's what some folks do with their front acreage when they're not using it for the garden. Or something like that.
And they'll still bitch because you generally want to put higher octane (read: more expensive) gas in the bike. There's just no pleasing some people.
My Dad and my Husband had their heads together over dinner the other night...
I hear we’re getting us a shiny new gun safe. Wa-Hoo! :)
As for the bikes, Husband had a total “crotch rocket” when we first married. He, of his OWN accord, decided to get rid of it because he now had me and a family; something else to live for, I guess, other than his “need for speed.”
I fully expect him to have a big old Hog in his later years, after he makes his “next million.” ;)
There's ways around that. Use regular and put the octane booster in.
About 3 bucks for a bottle that will get me almost 2,000 miles.
Boosts the octane more than I need, actually.
Yeah, good point. I used that stuff many years ago; haven't used it the last decade or so, forgot all about it! Might need to go back to it now...
Hooligan PING!
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