| Author | Message | ||
     Corporatemonkey |
This evening Colbert had an author on discussing compulsive branding. During the segment Stephen was hawking all sorts of weird branded crap. The funny part was when he pulled out a set of Harley Davidson branded birthday cake candles with sound  I was laughing so hard I had to rewind tivo to hear it. Birthday cake candles, that is as bad as HD branded canned air. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Let he who is without Logos cast the first aspersion. | ||
| Swordsman |
My favorite is the Orange County Choppers luxury bath soap. Nothing says "macho" like a lightly perfumed moisturizing bath bar.  ~SM | ||
| Spatten1 |
I'll have to check the DVR tonight. Colbert rules. | ||
| 1313 |
From Tilley's a couple-three weeks ago:   Even though the pictures kinda suck it's H-D bed sets. Not only in the customary orange and black, but pink and black. I wonder if the packaging said anything about dreaming about riding while using this product... 1313  | ||
| Hooper |
That said (and full disclosure, I own a Harley-Davidson), I REALLY wish Buell made car floor mats. I've worn a hole in my car mat, right under the gas pedal (of course), and I'd love to replace it with a Buell-logo mat. Not gonna' happen. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Hooper just contact Griots Garage (or any decent upholstery shop) Using todays modern sowing machines they can very easily stitch in a logo. I had a friend of mine recently get custom MR2 floor mats from Griots, and the quality was quite good for the money. | ||
| Chellem |
Make fun if ya like - but they wouldn't produce this stuff if there weren't a bunch of people who wanted to buy it. :P H-D actually turned us down once a few years ago. We had an offer to use a sidecar rigging and a H-D coffin for funeral processions. I actually thought it was a good idea - the funeral home guy said he got requests quite often for "biker funerals". But I guess it wasn't a market H-D wanted to get into. I can see their point - it might not be great for future business being reminded of what might happen when riding one of their products. Reinforcing negative stereotypes, blah blah. Still though, there's a dollar to be had, and they turned it down. Huh. Oh well. ->ChelleM | ||
| Bill0351 |
With HDs current demographics, you would think the coffin/hearse angle would be the next logical step after their new trike. Bill | ||
| Trackdad |
Bill, Check this out!!! http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/05/28/wtf/ doc4656f2a199fd1029788603.txt | ||
| Kyrocket |
I have to agree with Chellem, they're paying marketing people big bucks to come up with this stuff. If it'll make 'em a dime they'll probably put they're name on it. Unless of course it's a coffin. They're not called coffin dodgers for no reason, right? | ||
| Spatten1 |
Reminds me of my 6-year-old with all his Pokemon gear. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
 Not my dog (Message edited by not_purple_s2 on August 06, 2008) | ||
| Miamiuly |
Branded at birth..... Wish I could remember exactly which show, but some dateline type program brought in a bunch of very young children. They had on the wall A-Z but used letters from brand names and maybe a visual cue like a corporate logo (not sure about that, was long ago.) Anyway, they could nail the brand like if it was a coca cola script C, they knew it was coke but maybe couldn't tell you it was the letter C. Hmmmmmm...... (Message edited by miamiuly on August 06, 2008) | ||
| Bbbob |
Has anybody seen the Harley-Davidson Beef Jerky? | ||
| Chellem |
We sell it at Liberty! It's darn tasty! Well, I don't care for the Teriyaki style, but regular style is good. Priced at roughly the same as that guy who teases sasquatch. But yes, I take your point. If only you guys could see the master list of licensed vendors we get. Literally hundreds. And people wonder why we don't sell EVERYTHING they make. We'd just have to walk on the piles of stuff everywhere if we did that.  ->ChelleM | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Start the morning off With Biker Brew through the french press Damn Tasty, I will support H-D coffee before Starbucks. | ||
| Bbbob |
We had customers return the HD coffee wanting their $$ back. The dealer only carries it at Xmas now. Never tried it myself (I don't drink coffee). But I heard the HD sunscreen is tasty on English muffins. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Its a full bodied acid wash , its coffee they way they used to make it back in WWII. I should know that is how my grandfather taught me to make it. Run it in the perk, crack and egg in the grinds, a shot of tabsco, and strain the mash through the french press. Its probably too harsh for their Mocha choca venti triple vanilla latte with a twist personalities.  | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Make fun if ya like - but they wouldn't produce this stuff if there weren't a bunch of people who wanted to buy it. That's just it, HD doesn't make a lot of their own stuff. A company will come forward to license the brand for said product. HD gets the licensing fee, and then the manufacture gets stuck with a bunch of poorly thought out products that no one buys. A while ago Court published HD quarterly revenue % from merchandise, if I recall correctly it was in the mid 20% range. Frankly I think they are getting "drunk" on the brand. The bikes are still great, but the brand has been tarnished in the last few years. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Tarnished brand you say? I have a nice set of orange and black cat leash/harness displayed by my desk. George Carlin would be proud. (love his mono about Cats/ Cat toys) Get your Calico Runnin Get her off the stairway Hookin her up to a leash Looking for a pet park, or whatever comes our way. Yeah cat owners gonna make it happen Like a true hippy child, I will name my cat , "Cat" theres some nip and a scratch post I like that H-D chow, betcha got a coupon You get the gest, I havent had all my caffiene today , sorry for the ill attempt, its all I got at the moment. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Slow day huh? Do we need to get you a child's "activity center" to keep you entertained?   Or would this be better?  | ||
| Cityxslicker |
that last pic was my back yard when I was a kid, except our hole wasnt so square and it didnt have the jacuzzi soakin puddle off to the side. I had a very unsupervised childhood. Ever see how much mud will launch in the air with an M-80 thown in the puddle? good times. I will work on the cat song | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Ok this is as good as it gets. I dont have a cat so I am not too excited about the whole thing, but here ya go. Get your Calico Runnin Head her off at the stairway Hookin her up to a leash Looking for a pet park, or whatever comes our way. Yeah cat owners gonna make it happen Take the Friskees and kat stroller Don’t forget that Eco litter Gonna buy out this place I like nip and scratch toys, Whisker city sisal ring! Loading up the Hybrid Ya Kitty, gonna make a show Take you down to the shop Dressed in a new orange poncho Like a true hippy child, I will name my cat , "Cat" Theres a carpet tower to climb You Know I wanna buy! Born to be Branded Born to be Branded And for our locals if you have ever seen the Green Honda Element from Bainbridge at PetSmart, you know they have their cat on a leash inside the store. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Time to step away from the BONG  | ||
| Cityxslicker |
I should put a thread up of all the versions of that song that I have done. I think I am up to 4 now. Its just such an easy target, ripe full of kitsche. Thats all folks, back tomorrow for another show of dirty bike theater, tip your waitress and remember, be safe out there, that filthy orange bike with lights and knobbies is ME. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
So when was that mid life mental breakdown supposed to happen? | ||
| Chellem |
That's just it, HD doesn't make a lot of their own stuff. A company will come forward to license the brand for said product. HD gets the licensing fee, and then the manufacture gets stuck with a bunch of poorly thought out products that no one buys. I'm kinda glad that H-D themselves aren't making the cake toppers and the cat toys. Frankly, there are companies that specialize in that. H-D should be making motorcycles, and parts, and accessories, and other chromey-metal-painted things. For example, Wolverine holds the license for boots for H-D. They already make boots, so it's mostly just a matter of slapping a few labels on them. As opposed to H-D gearing up a leather factory to create boots from scratch. And believe me, people buy the stuff. Manufacturers clamor to get the H-D license. They do that because they know they can make money on it. Ya really gotta see the expo at a dealer show to fully appreciate the selection we as dealers are exposed to. OK - go back to your cat songs and bongs now. ->ChelleM | ||
| Miamiuly |
I often wonder why we buy stuff from people who insult our intelligence. Sometimes it's a good product despite the ads and I guess sometimes we have no real choice. I had intended to check into cheaper insurance and procrastinated for a long time. Then progressive went completely retarded in their ads and in 2005 I snapped and went to State Farm where I saved even after adding a bike. I just couldn't stand knowing that I was giving progressive money. Every time I saw an ad it was like a slap in my face. The ads, except for the Bob the motorcyclist ones, still irritate me but not nearly as bad as when I helped pay for them. Geico wouldn't get my business if it were half the price, I want to pull an Elvis and shoot my tv when those stupid ass adds come on. Cavemen & lizards to sell insurance to adults but somehow Joe Camel was aimed at kids. Lockheed Martin patting themselves on the back for protecting us- cause they aren't making a killing doing it. BP- talking to the average joe about energy. I buy it, you care. GM- and their SUV Hybrid sales pitch to a bunch of kids. Die GM, we have 3 of their vehicles currently, no complaints on the cars... die, you earned it. Toyota and Honda are probably better to this Country and probably make more cars HERE. New York Times can start your weekend a day early AND tell you what boots to buy, "how much would you pay for that?" Head On, we'll give you a headache and maybe you'll try our stuff. Yes I remember your brand, I'll remember to stay clear if possible. Word of mouth or just a decent ad. Some winners: VW often gets it right. The old school Mr. Whipple type ads, quick, painless and didn't take them selves too seriously. Plop, Plop, Fizz.... It's like these people never saw, "Crazy People" with Dudley Moore, that was great, gave away the bell secret and so much more. They went with total honesty: "Metamucil: We help you go to the toilet so you won't get cancer and die." or "Buy a Jaguar and get laid." All advertising students should have to watch that movie. A quality product will sell itself in time, even despite the ads. Next rant is medicine ads....that is pretty obvious though. I really should just get a tivo but that could be dangerous for me too. (Message edited by miamiuly on August 07, 2008) | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Hey, what about HD licensed medicine... Harley "Hard Tail" Back Pain Medicine Harley "V-Rod" Viagra oh, the possibilities... |
