Opened up my October 2003 Bicycling and this was on page 4 from Nalgene Hydration .
They should have said no reason for thirst to force you off your unicycle.
Re: Unicycle in Bicycling Magazine ad
There are two other inaccuracies in the ad. First, the Nalgene Hydration Packs are round, and made of hard plastic with a blue screw on top. Second, no self-respecting model would be caught on that road on anything smaller than a Coker…
can anyone identify the unicycle he’s rideing?
“Feel the wind at your back” on a 24 x 1.75 tire with possibly 150 cranks? If he’s going fast enough to feel the wind at his back, he’s going to be exhausted by the time he gets to that tree.
It’s pathetic that I can look at the picture and even venture a guess as to the tire’s thickness and crank length. I guess I’m becoming a fanatic.
Isn’t that a 20"?
The art director at the Ad Agency obviously doesn’t have a grasp of the state of Unicycling today.
His/Her inclusion of the silly hat is a visual manafestation of the cliche’d question: “Hey, are you in the circus?”
If you want to show a sportsman who needs hydration, dress the unicyclist in full battle gear and put twigs and dirt in his/her teeth and maybe include some blood!
(My qualifications to rant: I’m a thirsty MUnier in a hot/humid climate and an ex-art director.)
And besides, if dude feels the wind at his BACK, he’s barely moving. On a flat paved stretch such as that, he should feel the wind in his FACE. Get moving!!
My perception from the ad is that that particular pedaller doesn’t require the equipment being peddled. I hear “the Circus Song” (Enter the Gladiators?). Oh look, a cute little unicyler.
Re: Re: Unicycle in Bicycling Magazine ad
Sorry to correct you Tom, but Nalgene does make a Hydration Pak as pictured. My daughter has one just like the one in the picture. The 100 oz. paks are available on ebay for less than $30 including shipping. What a deal!!!
I think that is a Savage Saddle too. Must not had much of a budget.
I left off the bottom of the ad with the packs and bottles illustrated. Here’s the complete one:
I like the ad, probably just because it shows someone on a uni. It’s not the greatest, but I suppose it’s a start.
Meanwhile, I hope I am now a [drum roll, please…]
“real” rider.
Yesterday, I bought a hydration pack! I am so excited! I guess I should have bought it before yesterday’s 8-mile ride. I didn’t think I would need water, but we went farther than I expected.
Luckily, there was an old water pump at one of the parks, and after several minutes of coaxing, some nice, warm, rust-colored water trickled out. Ahhh.
But now I have a water pack. I feel so official! I just hope I don’t end up using it as a UPD cushion.
Carol
Minnesota
I agree with Carol that we need to see the glass as half full here. Nalgene is a maker of serious outdoor gear, and the text makes it sound like the guy is an athlete undertaking a challenging ride.
The image is weak, but they may not have had many to choose from.
That’s just it. Ad agencies set up the exact picture they want and shoot it. That’s what art direction is. They set up this shot. Camera angle, tree, hat.
I guess its something about the ad agency industry and my favorite hobby of late…and the picture doesn’t fit the copy…
it just got under my skin. Its the hat. Lose that hat and the ad works. That hat is the cliche. Its the stereotype. It belongs in a parade or the circus. Heck, we do parades…I’d cheerfully where that hat in a parade. Not on a sports outing. He should be wearing a helmet.
Gotta go. I’m thirsty.
i could swear that is exactly the same picture as came on one of those free internet trial discs a while back, i’ll try and find it and scan it.
Instead of ranting, maybe one of us should take the shot, keep what we like, and Photoshop a new picture. Or just start over again, keep the words and the pictures of their products, and make a new ad for them. That would be nice of us.
That must be a syndicated photograph, because I’m 99% sure it was used in an advert over here (UK) for (if memory serves) banking services. Surely no two unicyclists would have trousers like that?
As enthusiasts, we must beware of taking such images of our sport too personally. If you were a Morris dancer, you would know why. :0(
I’ve seen that picture before too. It was on a poster advertising a seminar given by a consulting company (Accenture i think, but I’m not sure). The text with the picture said something about standing out and thinking unconvensionally in order to reach your goals.
It looked to be a POS uni (I think I could make out lollypop bearings on the poster) and it is utterly useless if his goal is much beyond the tree in the background, so naturally I ignored the seminar.
The poster might still be around on campus, I’ll see if I can get one.
Morten
Carol McLean, eight mile ride?
YOU GO GIRL!!
Congratulations.
Yup, eight miles. Hard to believe, isn’t it?
And on my puny uni, too. Just think what I could do on a Coker!
(Faceplant.)
Carol
Minnesota
just after the howard stern movie ‘private parts’ came out, there was areview in the newspaper
they used a screen shot of the blond stripper sitting (nude) in the studio with him
i looked at the pic and caught myself thinking 'ooooh, those are neumanns! ’
that’s when i figured i was in the right bussiness
this pic is part of an ad library (“getty images”) used by many people
here is a previous discussion on it:
http://www.monocycle.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30
note that the actual pic was “edited” to make room for a pack!
we suspect the photo was taken in England:
- the guy is riding to the left
- there are some leftovers from a shower on the road!
bear