Carmichael Lynch put out a second print ad this fall in the “So screw it, let’s ride” campaign that it developed for Harley-Davidson.
“America, please don’t buy a Harley because it gets 50 mpg,” it rallies.
“History has shaped this tank, not the whims of foreign oil . . . . Let’s chase sunsets whether gas is 6 bucks or 6 red cents . . . .”
To be sure, fuel costs are still worrying consumers and businesses, even with gasoline prices down in September from their early summer peak. But a look in the rearview mirror at the first ad in the campaign, released last May, finds copy that seems even more responsive to the news of recent weeks.
Talking September 30, the day after the Dow took its to-date biggest point plunge ever, John Colasanti, CEO at Carmichael Lynch, said, “Obviously, we didn’t know what was going to happen yesterday” back when the campaign concept was developed last March and April. But he’s seen that “the ads resonate more now” based on feedback to his Minneapolis-based firm.
“This, out of all the work we’ve done for Harley, has generated more people reaching out to the agency saying, ‘Hey, I’ve never ridden a Harley, and I’m not even sure the brand is right for me, but amen for making that statement.’ Those kinds of things are coming fast and furiously,” Colasanti said.
