Sidewalk Life

Harley-Davidson Takes A Hard Right Turn

It appears Harley-Davidson advertising has yanked the brand far to the right.  In a full page ad appearing on the back of today's USA Today sports section, the American motorcycle company has chosen the risky strategy of embracing political speech. 

The ad, whose copy reads:

"It's  A Free Country.  But Have You Felt Like That Lately?"  continues in red and blue typeface over an image of a biker flying the Stars and Stripes "Has the torch of liberty gotten a little dimmer?  Is it starting to feel claustrophobic inside the safety net?  Do we still live in the home of the brave?" 

The idea appears intended to stir up fears of alienation and feelings of working-class resentment most notably expressed by far right wing groups like the Teabaggers and Birthers.  The ad encourages readers to go to their website and upload their own message about freedom.  Clicking through the 400+ comments posted to the site, most of them are harmless reflections on the freedom of riding a motorcycle.  But some take the a decidedly "anti" tone.  Anti immigrant, anti government, etc.

  

It's a peculiar, and risky, strategy to align a consumer brand with political speech, especially at a time when aligning yourself with one side means alienating yourself from the other.  But maybe H-D doesn't care about half the country.  Maybe they've decided that only one kind of Americans are fit for their bikes.  

Americans Trade In American Cars for Foreign Models Under 'Cash For Clunkers'

NPR reports that the Top 10 New Vehicles Purchased under Cash For Clunkers were:

1. Toyota Corolla (Japan)
2. Honda Civic (Japan)
3. Ford Focus FWD (U.S.)
4. Toyota Camry (Japan)
5. Hyundai Elantra (South Korea)
6. Toyota Prius (Japan)
7. Nissan Versa (Japan)
8. Ford Escape FWD (U.S.)
9. Honda Fit (Japan)
10. Honda CR-V 4WD (Japan)

And the top 10 trade-ins are made by U.S. companies according to LA Times:

1. Ford Explorer 2WD
2. Ford Explorer 4WD
3. Ford F-150 2WD
4. Ford F-150 4WD
5. Jeep Cherokee
6. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD
7. Dodge Caravan
8. Chevy Blazer 4WD
9. Chevy Silverado 1500 2WD
10. Ford Windstar

The program seems to achieved its first goal of putting more fuel efficient cars on the road, but it also benefited foreign car companies more than helped the struggling Detroit car companies, it's second goal.

"I thought it was cooler to be interesting than to be pretty"

Good for you Winona.  We agree.   Interestingness is much cooler.
Read the rest of the quote on Jezebel.

Build a Supermarket out of Straw and Sheep

The folks at Tesco are planning to build a one-of-a-kind store in Slovakia out of sheep's wool, wood and straw. 

Let's hope they don't get a visit from the three little pigs.

Story found over at Evolving Choice.

Now That's A Mission Statement

Taken at the customer service station at a Gelson's supermarket in Westlake Village, California. 

I don't usually get excited about company mission statements, but this one is absolute genius.  It is nothing like most mission statements I come across which are usually vague, ambling platitudes approved by an upper management committee after having gone through half a million dollar six month consulting project which end up describing things the company is trying to do, but leave you feeling uninspired and like anybody could have said it.  

Here's an example found on missionstatements.com from a supermarket chain called Albertsons:

"Guided by relentless focus on our five imperatives, we will constantly strive to implement the critical initiatives required to achieve our vision. In doing this, we will deliver operational excellence in every corner of the Company and meet or exceed our commitments to the many constituencies we serve. All of our long-term strategies and short-term actions will be molded by a set of core values that are shared by each and every associate."

Huh?  Forgettable, uninspiring and I have no idea what it means.  Plus, it completely misses the point of a mission statement, which is to focus all the company's energy and resources toward accomplishing a specific goal.

What makes the Gelson's mission statement so great is:

It clearly defines what they're trying to do:  "To make shopping anywhere else unacceptable."  This tells every employee exactly what the company is trying to achieve and what's expected of each of them every day.  

It's specific.  It states how they are going to win: Through "quality products, cleanliness, convenience and personal service"

It defines an enemy: "shopping anywhere else"

It's memorable.  It's short and to the point.

It's fantastically inspiring because it's so ambitious.  It doesn't just set out to beat the competition or provide a "superior" experience.  They aim to make the competitors experience unacceptable.  

Finally, it's visible.  The sign is right out in front of all the registers in plain sight for all their employees and customers to see. 

The Age of Honesty

I like this NY Times article about how going bankrupt might be the best thing for GM. 

The authors point is that old people are the ones concerned with heritage and stability where young consumers don't care.   If fact he suggests, young buyers might one day consider buying a GM car if the company owns up to past failures, puts it behind them, and restructures itself as something else for the future.  His rationale is that today's youth are forgiving of failure and are actually in favor of brand reinvention - whether you're a start-up, consumer brand or a President.  He points to Silicon Valley and the new entrepreneur spirit as evidence that failure is just a part of success today.

"Transparency and reinvention, rather than stability and regality, are the more valued assets in an economy where entrepreneurs expect to stumble more often than they succeed and where employees expect to have to change jobs (if not careers) multiple times. In the fastest-growing quarters of the economy, admitting your failures and remaking yourself is the new American work ethic."

He also uses  George Bush vs. Al Gore to reinforce his point here. The collapse of one by failing to admit mistakes and the success of the other by reinventing himself after a humiliating defeat.

The idea of failure leading to success reminds me of a great Jordan ad from years back.

Muji says 'Enough'

This message comes from Muji.com.  I don't know whether Muji has been reading The Underachievers Manifesto or Bill McKibben, but they certainly are saying something that is out of character for a retailer.  Page down on the Muji site and you'll see the rest of the message.

This is a different idea about "growth."  Finding satisfaction in restraint and compromise instead of "more" is straight out of McKibben's book Deep Economy.  If Muji really is taking a stance against consumerism (and it does seem consistent with their no label brand, but hard to believe coming from a retailer) this makes them a very early adopter of this new vision toward a sustainable economy and very unique in the market. 

Cars Make Women Horny

Good moms feed their families healthy nutritious meals...

If you dress nicely, household cleaning is no longer a chore, but a pleasure....

Birth control is not about sex, it's about period control... 

Those and other marketing genius exposed on Current TV's weekly segment, Targeting Women.  Really excellent (satirical) analysis on marketing to women. 

Quote of The Week

"If you have an ad that is relevant, you are more likely to pay attention," - Tivo via Adweek

iPod Exhaustion?

I used to see a lot more iPod's on the subway. 

Are people tiring of them?  Sales are flat according to The Times.

It takes a lot of time and energy to keep up with music.  Maybe they're too much work.  Or maybe people have found new ways to ignore each other.