K2 accused of using sex to sell ski boots
K2 have been accused of resorting to sexist imagery to sell their ski boots. We feel its only fair to reproduce their ad, purely so you can make up your own mind about this gratuitous sexism: It appears creators of the K2 Pinnacle 130 ski boot have no shame, as they have even posted a ‘Making...
The Freeze Festival moves to Clapham Common
After five years at the Battersea Power Station, the (London) Freeze Festival has dropped the London from its title and moved to Clapham Common. We dropped by on the opening night to see how it looked, and if any marketing or businesses stood out. Retro Rentals This is one business that may do well at Freeze – Retro...
“I’m having a fag!” – Tobacco Ads and Skiing
If you were around back in the 90s, you might remember the Red Ski Tour that used to visit the Alps. While aerial skiers dressed in red one-pieces would perform flips over a kicker, the MC would shout out cryptic messages for the crowd: ‘I’m not allowed to tell you the name of tonight’s sponsors,...
The 100 Rouble Olympic Snowboarder (now available on ebay)
To celebrate the impending Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Russia has minted a new 100 Rouble note with a snowboarder design. A mere 100,000 have been printed, with the snowboarder image on one site and the main stadium of the Games on the other side. Available on ebay If you can’t make it to Russia for...
9 Social Media Facts about the 2013 John Lewis Christmas Ad
Did you know there was a new advert for a shop? Yes, the annual new Christmas ad for John Lewis is now an ‘event’ worthy of reporting by the media. Surely you must have seen it already, so here’s some spurious facts about the coverage it has generated: 1. It cost a lot £1 million for an...
Is Sports Direct the future of snowsports retail?
Regular visitors to the London Ski & Snowboard Show last week will have noticed one rather visible new retailer this year. Nestling between the minimalist Snow + Rock stand and the huge footprint of Ellis Brigham was the newcomer Sports Direct. Sport Direct targeting 20% market share A year ago, the company – known for...