Advocacy & Safety - Commericals show bad cycling situations.

I was at my parents house watching a bit of television recently (I don't own one) and I saw two commericals that really bothered me. The first one was for milk which followed a cyclist along the road where first he rides so closely to the edge of the road that he almost gets doored (but as usual the door opens before he gets there which is not what happens when people actually get doored) then he starts staring at this girl not watching where he is going and almost hits a metal pipe. I find that this commercial does a great diservice due to the incompetance of the displayed cyclist.
The second one is a much smaller complaint. It is for some retirement fund company where the screen is split in two and you see the guy today and liek 25 years from now and they are doing the exact same thing. Near the end, they both get into their car --syncronized -- and drive out of the driveway. However, in the future scene, as he drives out, he completely cuts off a cyclist by mere feet!

Commericals like this annoy me because they compleletely misrepresnt cyclists and put forward the notion that cars are king.

welcome to consumerism!

advertising/company exec: social influence/impact of commercials... uh, oh yeah you mean how it affects sales next month or some time way in the future...

as car sales and the auto industry in general generate WAY more money than cycling... it's pretty much expected for cycling to be presented as such (as a toy and anyone who needs REAL transportation or wants to be cool needs a car - oh, and not any car, but the one with the 300hp and the sey grill that represents the buyer's inner self -- or wait, no uh, hides and masks and compromises for the buyer's lack of (pick an insecurity)...

It's funny, but I was thinking of that recently when I saw an ad where these kids take their mountain bikes on a car rack up to the mountains. ANd they don't even use the bikes- they just leave them on top of the car and just hang out throwing stuff at each other. I can't remember what the ad was for, but it drove me nuts.

OTOH, I liked that ad for Volkswagen with the two mountain bikers racing each other to get to the car.

I like the AFLAC commercial where the mtb'er in the park does a header. It's interesting how many TV ads have bicycles in the background.

I remember an old black-and-white movie with Humphrey Bogart
(can't remember the title) in which I saw many happy cyclists (lots of them women in two-piece outfits--must have been Florida) cycling casually along in the street with traffic, flowing with traffic. Also, a pair of lady cyclists stopped together for a traffic light directly behind the next vehicle, in the center of the lane; the ladies were riding two abreast.

What has happened since then? Didn't even Andy Griffith, Sheriff of Mayberry, tell his son not to ride his bike on the sidewalk, that it was against the law?

:confused:

Times are a-changin'.

GAP did an advert with a bunch of pretty 20something "Friends" type crowd, riding cruisers through the empty streets of a big city. The thing I liked about it was that the were wearing ordinary clothes and having fun.

The thing I liked about it was that the were wearing ordinary clothes and having fun.

YES, YES, YES!!! We need to see more of that. Stop showing weirdos dressed up like space aliens and start showing more people riding for fun and maybe, just maybe, more people would take an interest in cycling.

The only bike-car TV commercial I've seen that I "liked" was for the Nissan X-Terra. It's the one where the mountain biker comes back to the SUV and bandages himself and his saddle, then continues riding.

The SUV got him to the destination but he had all the fun on the bike!! :thumbup:

Originally posted by Spire
Commericals like this annoy me because they compleletely misrepresnt cyclists and put forward the notion that cars are king.

You mean commercials aren't real life?
STOP THE PRESSES!!
I was seriously under the impression that I would be a better person if I drove the right car, drank only crisp and clean no caffeine, bought an insurance policy from the company you keep, and chewed the gum that four out of five dentists surveyed would recommend for their patients who chew gum.

You mean it's all fake? And just when I was going to choose what deodorant to buy . . .

Originally posted by Puckloki
You mean commercials aren't real life?

You mean it's all fake?
Not really. Not if we all buy into it--then, it becomes reality.

Originally posted by Spire
I was at my parents house watching a bit of television recently (I don't own one) and I saw two commericals that really bothered me. The first one was for milk which followed a cyclist along the road where first he rides so closely to the edge of the road that he almost gets doored (but as usual the door opens before he gets there which is not what happens when people actually get doored) then he starts staring at this girl not watching where he is going and almost hits a metal pipe. I find that this commercial does a great diservice due to the incompetance of the displayed cyclist.
The second one is a much smaller complaint. It is for some retirement fund company where the screen is split in two and you see the guy today and liek 25 years from now and they are doing the exact same thing. Near the end, they both get into their car --syncronized -- and drive out of the driveway. However, in the future scene, as he drives out, he completely cuts off a cyclist by mere feet!

Commericals like this annoy me because they compleletely misrepresnt cyclists and put forward the notion that cars are king.

First, I admit, there have been many times that I've passed a woman that lived up to the words "eye candy", and I looked a bit longer :eek: then I should have, and almost hit something or another.. :( yet, I still do that for my personal entertainment ... :D I can't believe you've never done something like this???? :confused:

Vehicles(cages) of any kind ARE KING of the road...they out number cyclist every I ride. Sorry, but adds like that represent a moment of bozo-izm in everybody, not meant to be taken so serious...

Even though there are many dedicated cyclists that frequent various bike clubs & forums around the world and internet, such as this one. There's even a LARGER unknown quantity of bike riders that DON'T HAVE A LOVE AFFAIR going on with their bike, it's purely a functional last resort. Not all cyclists are courteous, nor are all cyclists advocacy or safety driven, and many are NOT considerate when riding...

I really like the commercial (for deoderant I think) where these two guys stretch a giant rubber band (something like that) across the road and fling a pack of roadies back. They're laughing their heads off when suddenly the entire pack charges at 'em. GRRR :)

The solution to this is a simple one. Don't watch them. If the advertisers found that fewer people were watching their advertisements or buying their products, they'd soon get rid of them. On the (extremely rare) occasion that I actually watch commerical television (most of the shows in this country are utter rubbish) I channel surf when the commercials come on.

I find most of them to be extremely annoying anyway (yes, even the ones without bikes in them), and really don't see any need for them at all. Yes, I know they pay the bills for the TV networks and whatever else, but they don't serve any purpose for me personally at all. If I'm looking to buy a product of any description, I'll research the facts for myself and make an informed decision, and I'll do it when it suits me, not when Siiiiiiimon or Raaaaalph from the agency says I should.

As far as the original ad goes - I wouldn't worry about it too much. There are probably just as many ads that portray motorists doing stupid things (I know that one insurance company here in Australia has a liking for that), and I think most people realise that these advertisements aren't to be taken seriously (heck, they don't take the anti-speeding/anti-drink driving ones seriously).

Personally, I'm more worried about the advertisements that bicycle shops/manufacturers make that attempt to define cyclists as belonging to only two groups. I think they do a bigger stereotype job because they actually come from 'within the industry' so to speak.

Originally posted by Chris L
On the (extremely rare) occasion that I actually watch commerical television (most of the shows in this country are utter rubbish) I channel surf when the commercials come on.



exactly what I do commercials are awaste of time for the most part.

Originally posted by nathank
the one with the 300hp and the sey grill that represents the buyer's inner self

I actually had a person say to me once, 'yeah my car isn't fast or anything, it only has 225hp.' I guess you need 300hp and a 6 mile per gallon engine to be fast? :rolleyes:


Originally posted by cycletourist
YES, YES, YES!!! We need to see more of that. Stop showing weirdos dressed up like space aliens and start showing more people riding for fun and maybe, just maybe, more people would take an interest in cycling.

we look like space aliens?....

so maybe cycling is the way of the universe :D

I really liked that ad for the X-terra, and the one with the deodorant. The only thing was the cyclists running after the guy at the end of the ad. I assume they took their shoes off, how else would they be able to walk, let alone run!

There was another ad, speaking of space aliens. I was for the biotech industry and showed a guy riding a Bent along some country road. He was wearing typical cycling shorts and jersey- and for some odd reason, a time-trial helmet. Obviously, it was supposed to look 'futuristic'- a clean future, etc. And also, the guy was obviously a roadie, he did not look like the guys I see riding bents. It was just a weird ad.

I still think it was odd that Lincoln Navigator was a major advertiser for the TdF and Vuelta.


I wonder how many cyclists who watched either event actually considered buying one. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by RonH
I still think it was odd that Lincoln Navigator was a major advertiser for the TdF and Vuelta.


I wonder how many cyclists who watched either event actually considered buying one. :rolleyes:

I was thinking the exact same thing. My suspicion is that some marketing genius looked at the OLN demographics and figured that folks who watch the TDF are the right age and income level. Not taking into account that most people who watch cycling on TV are cyclists themselves and have had the experience of being right-hooked by the proverbial cellphone-talking soccer mom in a Navigator.