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02-16-09, 05:19 PM

#16

zeppinger

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Platy

Okay, I'm on a Youtube scavenger hunt for positive bike symbolism in TV commercials!

Here's a notable non-pharma example from the AmSouth/Regions Bank "Green Bike" marketing campaign :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rez7EsMwu5w

Not American and not adults on bikes, but you see how bicycle symbolism is invoked in this Japanese Prius ad from 1999:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjEZAEqS9es

The Design Challenge Award winner of the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show was the GMC PAD concept car. This page has an image from the marketing materials. Look closely, the hipster guy standing in front of it is holding a folding bicycle!

http://www.cars.com/go/features/auto...oncept_gmc_pad

A Guinness beer commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU9S3PuFVVE

Nike "Just Do It" ad circa 2006:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PFacJbg9bk

These are good point. However, for everyone of these positive commercials about people using a bike in there free time, as a toy, there are also commercials like these that make fun of people who use bikes as a means of transportation. The implications are obvious and so even though the bike is shown positively in some commercials it is still used to represent upper middle class consumerism. In a way it is worse that they use the bike to symbolize these values rather than not use it at all. It is essentially hijacking a cultural symbol and morphing it into a consumer symbol. At least that what I think, but I am cynical. Maybe its better just to have them on TV at all? What do you all think?

Take a look!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSqVGvl3DUM

Actually, now that I see this version of the commercial its not as bad as the one I saw last night which was shorter and made it seem like he was riding a bike because he could not get a car loan... It was the some product being sold but the lyrics were different... Hmm maybe someone complained and they pulled it? Or maybe I suck at youtube and just cant find it....

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