Nude Burton Snowboards: Edgy & Funny? or Offensive? Will they sell? How do they affect the brand?
Burton Snowboards has a new Love line , with interesting graphics resembling a "R" rated Playboy pictorial. Question: is this good marketing?
It has garnered some press, including with Ad Age and Boston.com [article] Aside from the controversy, do these help the brand? Will they sell?
This may take someone in the correct demographic to judge, as older generations will perceive this differently than younger generations. The key seems to be whether the images are humorous.Representing an older generation, I think Playboy style snowboards are a miss (juvenile, neither sexy nor edgy), but I can imagine why Burton might want to go this direction. Edgy,fun, or humorous would be attractive brand attributes for younger snowboard enthusiasts, and if this works it could target a demographic very specifically. Are these edgy, funny, or fun? This seems one of those marketing decisions where good demographic test data would be essential prior to launch. I'd assume Burton has done that.
The images objectifying women may work as a joke if young people instantly recognize them as a parody of objectification while older generations and parents at the lodge react negatively, simultaneously gaining a laugh from peers, and sneers from parents. A joke that only young people get could make the product feel purpose built for them. I could imagine that result selling well, if it is under 12 year old boys that are driving the product selection.
Are these funny? Even if they sell, is the apparent sexism a bad move for the Burton corporation on general principle?
Finally, is this good long term for the Burton brand, or negative, or just too risky?
