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May 2008

BestWorst Print Ads of 2007-08

For these reviewers, it's all about clean copy, great art, and making a connection.

Written by Katie Bailey and David O. Williams | 0 comment

Part I: Skiing

Desperately seeking inspiration for a great adventure.

By David O. Williams

The task of reviewing this past season’s best and worst resort ads in the various ski mags weighed on me with a sense of impending dread this spring.

And my feelings didn’t stem from my usual unease over putting my largely uninformed opinions out there for everyone to ridicule, take exception with or flat out reject. Rather, it was because I injured my knee in mid-January and have for the most part missed one of the best ski seasons in modern memory. My gut was twisted in a ball of unrelenting angst by the prospect of flipping through page after page of imagery aimed at invoking exactly the visceral reactions and snow-choked sensations I’ve been unable to enjoy for the past few months. As if living in Vail hasn’t been torture enough.

But something wonderful happened. Rather than being lost in a cloud of gloom, I found myself inspired and motivated to rehab for next season. I actually started looking at the ads with the eye of an eager consumer.

I’ve always tried to do this in the past, but it’s hard when you live in the heart of ski country and the goods are always just right outside your front door. This year, it was easy. I started looking at each resort ad this season with an eye toward next, and where I wanted to go on our annual buddy trip—the absence of which has been my most painful loss this winter. Where do I most want to go after the anguishing hours of rehab and a summer of mountain biking? Whose ads grabbed me the most and inspired me not only to get back on boards, but get out of Dodge?

With my newfound motivation, I organized this season’s resort ad reviews a little differently. They start with the truly inspiring, move to the merely motivating, and end with “the ho hum, maybe I’ll take up dog-sledding next season” losers.

Most Inspiring
Ski Utah as a whole, and some of the trade organization’s member resorts individually, did a very nice job this season. That reaction also probably stems from the fact that the Beehive State was the scene of my last buddy trip (January of ’07)—an eight-resort epic that included the Interconnect Tour and some heli-skiing. The highlights:

Know Your Market: Utah
I loved the Ski Utah sticker insert in Freeskier. If you’re going after the youth market, what makes more sense than a sticker of a guy with his head in the clouds that reads: “It just pukes in Utah”? The Ski Utah ad the stickers fronted (and which also ran in other pubs) was nice as well—a nontraditional shot of a skier absolutely consumed by a cloud of snow, and the clever type, “Gives new meaning to the phrase, ‘under the weather,’” plays up the state’s clear advantage over other destinations: snow.

Deer Valley continues to impress with its campaigns befitting the top-ranked resort in the nation. Talk about knowing your market. The checklist ad in Ski was spot-on; a skier arcing perfect powder turns through a superimposed to-do list that includes tasks such as “see what sablefish tastes like on a mountain” and “have a conversation with your teenager that doesn’t involve grades.” High-end dining, family values, marketing doesn’t get much more targeted than that.

Best Non-skiing Inspiration: The Canyons
I love resort ads that don’t really play up the skiing or the mountain (if they’re done right). The Canyons ad, “You’ll remember the rush when you feel it,” much more subtly invokes the “rediscovering youth” theme that you see in Disney’s TV campaign featuring adults who morph into kids again. The photo in the Canyons ad is of a kid about to soar off a homemade ramp on a BMX bike. It takes up about seven-eighths of the page, with a small strip on the bottom showing the mountain and a skier buried in pow. Good concept; great execution.

Most Inspiring Message: Snowbasin
The “It’s your turn” ads struck a chord for some reason, I think because of their use of unconventional photography (a skier launching past a snow-encrusted tree) and inspiring, straightforward verbiage: “You own something that no one can ever take away. It’s your turn.”

Best Julie Andrews Moment: Schweitzer
I’ve never been to Schweitzer, but I’ve always wanted to head north, and its ads this season really sealed the deal for me. A very simple photo of a lift rising along a ridgeline, with snow-caked trees in the foreground, is accompanied by text and arrows pointing to different skiers on the lift: “Loves the wide open bowls,” “Loves to go big,” “Loves the steeps,” and “Would love a beer at the lodge.” I hate to go all Julie Andrews on you, but these truly are a few of my favorite things when it comes to skiing. And Schweitzer pulls it all together with a tagline that says it all: “Your own private mountain.” Playing on a lack of crowding is never a bad thing.

Best anti-marketing: Mammoth
I’ve never made it to Mammoth, either, and it delivers a similar message with stunning photography of massive rock spires towering over a lone skier plying a nearly unbroken field of powder. “Our fluff is on the mountain, not in our ads” is as good a use of in-your-face anti-marketing as you’ll find. Sometimes, when you’ve got the goods, just let your mountain do your talking.

Most Inspiring Diversion: Reno/Tahoe
Sometimes, even when you have the mountains—as the Lake Tahoe area clearly does—you still want to play up your diversionary differences. No one else in the nation can offer casino gambling and the nightlife of South Lake or Reno after a day of skiing. I thought the split Reno-Tahoe ads emphasizing high-speed skiing action in one frame and exotic nightlife in the other, with the overlapped text, “the bad news: the day is over” and “the good news: the day is over,” was exceptional, and motivational. I’m there next season.

Most Inspiring Conspiracy: Heavenly
In the same geographical vein, I’m glad to see Tahoe dropped its “Blue World” campaign, which I liked initially but was getting a bit tired of. Heavenly’s “The best gets better” ads worked for me, with photography taking advantage of the scenery with a skier plowing pow and the lake as a backdrop. And I liked the type: “Bring witnesses for the steep and deep. And accomplices for later.” Nice conspiratorial tone: “What happens in Heavenly, stays in Heavenly.”

Most Relaxing: Le Massif, Quebec
Lastly, I’ve never heard of Le Massif (Canada), but its ad made me want to check it out. Nice skier’s-eye view of a powder run with three or four tracks heading toward the valley floor, and then insert photos of the lodge, a skier in a meditative lotus pose and table groaning beneath the weight of a feast complete with bottle of red wine. “Go East,” urges the tagline. I was relaxed just reading the ad.


Merely Motivational

Most Ingratiating: Big Sky and Breckenridge
I’ve come full circle on Big Sky’s “Behold” campaign. I used to think the ads were a little too mystical and animated (why not just go with a single, stunning image of Lone Peak), but now, perhaps since I haven’t been there in a decade and would love to get back, they work for me. I like the brass, too: “The biggest skiing in America. A little less Cinderella. A little more wicked stepsister.”

Another treatment I’ve done a switcheroo on is the Breckenridge campaign: “Proof that anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” What felt like constricted design and too much white space in the past now seems like just the right graphic touch. The ad with a skier framed in a window and descending into the clouds draws you in, especially with this type right below: “Breckenridge is the place you dream about.”

Best Use of Size: Whistler and Vail
These two giants continue to throw out dueling terrain ads, and that aspect of both their campaigns is quite effective. When you are that massive, why beat around the bush? Whistler’s double-truck “Pushing the boundaries” spread sucks you into the understated type and makes you want to head northwest, young man. The Vail “There’s no comparison” campaign inspires, too. The double-truck spread showing the sheer enormity of the place proves that, in this case, size really does matter.

Most on the Money: Beaver Creek
Though the campaign is growing old, Beaver Creek’s “Not exactly roughing it” ads are right on the money, showing the many faces of an underrated mountain. I especially liked “The Migration of the Eastern Third Grader,” which shows two “V’s” of young skiers shot from high above. It’s funny … and family-friendly.

Most Funny: Jay Peak
Humor is not something you see a lot of in resort ads, so I like it when an area takes a shot. Jay Peak once again came through with its “Move up” ads in Freeskier: a shot of an elderly woman in a tub sipping champagne and saying, “Oh, I’d love to try a black diamond, they sound expensive.” Followed by the admonishment, “If you’re not here for the mountain, you’re not here.” No frills … and feeling it.

The Less-Than-Inspiring

Most Blah: Keystone, Telluride, Steamboat
Keystone’s “Imagine yourself here” ads were sterile and just left me feeling a little cold. Bird’s eye view of three skiers in a vast bowl, but they’re mere specks, and the ad goes on to read, “Look closely, you’re smiling.” Show me the smile, was my reaction.

Telluride’s text-heavy advertorial treatments don’t do a lot for me, either. There’s so little time to pull someone in and inspire them, and Telluride has the mountain and the town to do both things very quickly.

Ditto Steamboat: very busy ads with pictures and western accoutrements cluttering up the message. When you have a great mountain, tons of snow and a very original ski-town feel, why bog people down in too much type?

Most Unfocused: Squaw Valley
Squaw tried to show it’s all things to all people with a montage of photos depicting smiling kids, couples, skiers on groomers and skiers in powder—with the trite tagline of “We’ll give you something to smile about!” From everything I’ve heard, there’s much more to Squaw than their ad even hints at.


Part II: Snowboarding Crossing Over

Top snowboard advertisers tie print, web campaigns together.

By Katie Bailey

What makes a great resort ad for the snowboard media? Should it be funny? Interactive? Boastful? Should it directly influence bookings, or does its value lie in building cred?

As marketing departments increasingly look online for advertising opportunities, these kinds of questions are becoming more critical to the life of the print ad. The powers that be want to see print ads work for their money—no more getting by with just a pretty face. So how does a print ad earn its weekly allowance when its Internet sibling gets a better report card?

Like Michael Corleone said in The Godfather, “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” Resorts are driving customers to websites via print advertising. It’s a win-win situation, but it takes a deft touch—simply printing a URL to the same ol’ site is no way to get traffic in a Web 2.0 world. The best campaigns give readers a strong reason to go online.

Our winner this year, Northstar, took an intelligent approach to melding its web and print worlds and, while we have no idea if it worked or not (care to let us know, Northstar?), it certainly stood out for its cleverness. Other high marks go to the subtlety of Mammoth, Bear for great design and call to action, Whistler for lifestyle, and Mountain High for getting straight to the point.


Head of the Class

Most Innovative: Northstar-at-Tahoe
At first glance, this ad is pretty subtle, but its beauty is in its execution. Each ad in the series, shot in a shadowy warehouse-style set, features one Northstar team rider standing next to a video screen featuring a shot of his video part this year. The copy that accompanies it poses a question, unique to each rider, asking why they “claim” Northstar as their home resort. For example: “Chas [Guldemond], aren’t you from New Hampshire? Why do you claim Northstar Resort? Hear him out at: ChasRidesHere.com/1.”

This is lovely for so many reasons. One, the reward is there. The reader is driven to a unique URL that gives a video answer to the question, and all sorts of other goodies, like rider Q&As and stats. Riders explain why they like Northstar, and each video features a clip from the video in which they had a part (Mack Dawg, etc.). It is, essentially, a magazine page come to life.

Also, the copy is great. For Jeremy Jones, who is well known for his Utah roots, the question is: “Jeremy, Everyone knows you’re a Utah guy. How can you claim Northstar Resort?” Good question! I’ve even asked that myself. The design is excellent, the copy clever, and the focus on-point. (This strategy also provides a great way to measure response via web traffic.) Great job.

Most innovative, runner-up: Whistler Blackcomb
I really liked this campaign for its grassroots feel and lifestyle-oriented approach. This ad, and its accompanying website, makes creative use of its team riders, featuring a collage of scrapbook-style personal photos and a shot of the featured rider. The effect, especially with the “graffiti,” is essentially a Facebook page on paper—and Canadians like their Facebook, let me tell you. The low-key copy directs readers to untrackedlines.com, where the ads come to life via blogs and photos from team riders and updates on the terrain parks and competitions. This campaign does a great job of maximizing their formidable team of riders and gives viewers a realistic, non-marketing-department-driven “inside look” into what it’s like to live and ride in Whistler. Way to go, WB.

Most Original Creative: Bear Mountain
Bear’s “Signature Jib” campaign keeps this resort in its annual top-three spot on this list. The ads each feature one of the resort’s team riders devising their “signature jib.” Team rider Lauri Heiskari’s ad is great: Lauri sits in a chair holding a model of his jib feature in a room strewn with record covers, but if you look a bit closer, you realize that the jib is made out of record covers and chaos surrounding him is, in fact, prototypes made out of record covers, too. The creativity of this campaign is awesome, and the call to action innovative: head out to Bear on a specific date, check out Heiskari’s jib and perhaps meet the man himself. Great ad, and it couldn’t be any more appropriate for a snowboard mag.

Most Effective Subtle Approach: Mammoth
This campaign was really interesting and took me by surprise at first. The full-spread ads are a simple photo of a park feature, darkened heavily except for a spotlight on one small aspect of the feature—the “crux” of that feature, if you will. The copy reads, “The little things matter.” And that’s it. But you know what? It’s true! Mammoth’s pride in its well-built, well-designed and detail-oriented park program is worthy of such a subtle boast. Terrain parks had their share of controversy in 2007, and this ad lets readers know that Mammoth not only supports its parks, they “get it,” too.

Most Effective Not-So-Subtle Approach: Mountain High
The blunt approach of this campaign was perfect for this resort. Inch-high type dominates the ads, reading, “Your local night riding authority” and “Support your local terrain park specialists.” Hey, if most of your customers come from California anyway—and that’s a crowded market—why not just target that audience? I thought it was smart to be so loud among the glossy glamour of its closest competitors.

Best Green Advertising: Snowmass
Green advertising can be a bit eye-roll-inducing, but Snowmass brought a legitimate version to the game with its “Save Snow” campaign. Using team rider Gretchen Bleiler, the ad seeks to drive readers to find more information on Snowmass’ environmental efforts on its save­snow.org website. I liked the bold approach and clean creativity, and I would say the only sin this ad commits is being a bit throwback in its drive-to-web gambit, which isn’t as innovative as the top two ads on this list.

Back of the Pack

Least Creative: Ridevail.com, Keystone, Big Sky
Truly great ads are tough to achieve, but if you’re going to spend the money to place it, why not try to top yourself every year? Ridevail.com ran the same campaign as last year, and it didn’t get any better with age. Yeah, the picture is fine, but it certainly doesn’t inspire you to stop and stare. Ditto for Keystone. Nice photo, good branding, but maybe a bit too subtle for its own good. And though I praised Big Sky last year, they, too, re-ran the same campaign, only with worse copy, so this year they get lumped into the not-so-hot category as well.

Copywriting Violations: Big Sky, Chevy Grand Prix
Bad design seems to have taken a vacation this year—I couldn’t find even one naked snowboarder to criticize—but alas, bad copywriting lurks around the industry like a drunken uncle on Thanksgiving day. Big Sky, for example: “A little more Cinderella. A little less wicked stepsister”? Come on! What snowboarder is going to think that’s cool? Even my six-year-old cousin told me last Christmas that Cinderella was “for babies” and she wanted no part of it.

Or the dreaded sin of superfluous lingo in this ad for the Chevy Grand Prix: “Thousands of spectators were treated to some of the biggest tricks ever landed and some of the most horrific bails ever seen.” First of all, is that even true? Biggest tricks ever landed? Unless this is the Arctic Challenge and the rider was Terje, don’t claim it. Most horrific bails ever? Should you even boast about that? Exaggerating is just as bad as faking it—everyone knows that.


Honorable Mentions

Best Co-Opt: Sierra-at-Tahoe, for appropriating the Grand Theft Auto artwork for its pro team. Loved the drawings of the riders in video-game mode.

Best Classic Approach: Heavenly, for its take-out poster featuring pro rider Andreas Wiig slashing pow. What teenager doesn’t like a great shred poster on their wall?

Overall, it’s great to see resorts being progressive with their campaigns and starting to really utilize the opportunities to meld print and online campaigns as one. Snowboard magazines are a vital part of the riding scene and remain a valuable place to reach that fickle demographic—especially if you play it smart.