AARG! That is my biggest gripe about bike clothes. Nothing is more distasteful than sponsor logos plastered all over. It makes you look like a race car driver. Not me- I want plain looking jerseys with NO VISIBLE BRAND NAMES! If you want to advertise on my body you will pay for that priveledge.

I agree. At 38 I feel like a fool with a crap plastered all over my body and bike (part of the reason I went with Specialized Alllez is that the logo is less conspicuous than others, especially Cannondales).

Well now Randya will be a happy little welfare recipient and soon forget about the whining and complaining that finally got money from someone else and put it into his pocket. It is the democratic way.

I can highly recommend Ground Effect clothing. Reasonably priced, no advertising (apart from a small Ground Effect logo), and good quality. I turned to ordering from them when a search of the local bike shops turned up nothing but 'sponsored' gear. I'm not a company shill, just a satisfied customer.

I've been thinking about ordering my cycling clothing from them - especially since my airline baggage bag from them seemed to work so well. I just have some concerns about how their gear wears in hot weather.

You can bait me if you want, but I'm not buyin' it. I am appreciative of whomever made the donation in my name - thank you, whoever you are - but as far as I can tell, it was done of their own volition and free will, which emphatically makes it not welfare, but rather, generosity. BTW, the money went to Joe and the Bike Forum and NOT in my pocket. AND if you read back a few pages on the thread, you will see where Joe thanked me for starting the thread and bringing up this issue as it increased donations to Bike Forums all around. I have also noticed two other threads on this same topic in the News and Announcements section; when considered in conjunction with the interest in, length and content of this thread, I would have to say that it indicates that I'm not alone in disliking the ubiquitous advertising that seems to have taken over our culture.

I will admit to a somewhat abrasive tone in some of my early posts to this thread, and I have duly noted RobCat's comments on that issue.

Just for the record Sam, is your bike jersey covered with ads, or not?

Yep and I love them! I will wear the blaze of a product I am proud to promote especially if I use it and I am happy with it.

The bike industry is important to me since I love biking. Is it important to you Randy?

Oh, and our household provides regular support for the site not just a one time pop just to claim a bit of fame as supporting members.

But hey, your thread did actually result in some donations which is fantastic. Thanks.

But if you really feel the ads here annoying I'd hate to see your reaction to an AOL members constant barrage of BS.

Like SamDaBikinMan, I will happily wear clothing with company names if I like the product. I see nothing wrong with that. But more to the point, I find a lot of those logos and designs to be their own form of art. Some are quite smartly or humourously done. Some are intricate... others are simple but generally speaking many have had a lot of thought put into them. My favourite logo I think is the "diamond portion" of old Sun logo... looks a little like the Columbia Sportwear logo (or vice versa). It's simple yet clever in design. Another one is the old Dairy Mart logo.

That is a really cool logo Khuon.

I will happily advertise for business that supports cycling. If you do not then it is akin to slapping your best friend for cheering you on at a sporting event. Just don't make good sense.

Support those who support us. Not only is it fair, it is just plain smart and shows respect.

Agreed. Sun also has made quite an impact in the bicycling world... at least from Specialized's perspective... Look on the seattube of many a Specialized bike.

http://www.sun.com/desktop/success/specialized.html

true... so true..

I and a team of graphic inclined people, spent over a week creating the best logo design for my store..

And since I love cycling, the store have been sponsoring cycling related activities since we opened.

I typically try to stay away from logos, as I'm rather slow and a bad climber. I don't want to embarrass the company.
However, I do want a really cool Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Jersey I saw in the LBS. And I would also wear a jersey supporting Ben and Jerry's. They're both cycling sponsors and just really good companies.

I wear Domina vacanze zebra kit because it is the most visible cycling kit you can have, and get it all colour coordinated. I don't really care about the logos, although the old Acqua & Sapone one was quite cool.

I am curious, randya, whether or not you believe rightful advertising exists. I don't know how the world would turn without at least some advertisements. You could hardly even sell a house.

I want to go through an increasing level of advertising and find out where you would personally draw the line.

Suppose I operate my own business from a property I own. Obviously, a plain building says nothing. I need customers! So, I put a sign on the door saying who I am and what my service is. I'm still not getting noticed, so I have an attractive sign mounted on the roof or on a pole on my lot to accomplish the same more effectively. I also let my friends and neighbors know I've gone into business. Even further, a few friends offer to take my business cards and offer them to their friends. I also realize there is a particular part of town where people who often want my service live, so I talk to someone who owns property there, and ask if he will, for some compensation, allow me to put a sign on his property. Engouraged by success, I pay a newspaper to dedicate a portion of a page to an ad for my business. I realize that I can be more efficient by only advertising to my typical customers, so I buy adspace in a magazine related to my industry (about the level of the adbot, I would suppose). I then start surveying some of my customers to find out their demographics. Perhaps I try a few mass mailings. I'm not going to bother with unsolicited phone calls (ugh). As I grow, I become able to afford to go straight to potential customers in their homes, using television. And of course, I could always try spam (if I want to alienate the best of my potential customers, IMHO).

So, others respond as well, but where do you draw the line. Is going beyond that just impolite, or it possibly criminal. Should the government regulate it? Is there a level where it should be regulated? What makes a level of advertising wrong? Does the fact that some businesses are owned by multiple people affect what is and isn't right (i.e. the constitutional issue randya brought up)?

Although I mostly disagree with what randya has said so far, I find this discussion fascinating and really want to understand the opposing viewpoint(s). Thx

meh. The advertisements don't bother me. I choose to ignore most of them, anyway. Then again, I'm a terrible consumer/capitalist.