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HOME  - Various Warfare Marketing of the Great Outdoors
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Warfare Marketing of the Great Outdoors |
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Written by Scott Silver
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Tuesday, 15 August 2006 |
In recent years, the non-motorized arm of the wreckreation industry (Outdoor Industry Association) has attempted to become a match to the industry's powerful motorized arm (American Recreation Coalition). The result has been a rapid escalation in the transformation of all forms of recreation into wreckreation.
Pasted below is a well-aimed rant about the OIA's most recent attack upon wild nature. As it states, OIA's new friend, Hummer, is up to its neck in partnerships with the BlueRibbon Coalition and the US Forest Service -- working to advance the interest of wreckreation (in this case motorized) while facilitating the commercialization and privatization of our public lands.
I've also provided the text of the first page of the Tread-Lightly / Hummer Guide to Four-Wheeling. I encourage you to read the entire document at the url provided below.
I might just add that the non-motorized industry's 'Leave No Trace' campaign and the motorized industry's 'Tread Lightly' campaign are, and have been since both were privatized more tha a decade ago, "sister organizations".
LNT is brought to us by Subaru, TL by other car companies. The difference between them are much less than are the similarities. The same can, and should, be said about OIA and the ARC.
Consider it said!
Scott
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http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/hummer_orsm2006.html
Like Nothing Else": Warfare Marketing of the Hummer H3 (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2006)
Hummer Grabs Limelight at Open Air Demo.
BY Ryan Jordan
Silhouetted against the backdrop of the ragged Wasatch Front, home to
some of the finest backcountry skiing and hiking in the United States,
as part of the Outdoor Industry's most dramatic gathering of
businessmen and product buyers interested in gear related to human
powered sports, something different is here.
A Hummer.
If you like, you can test drive one.
And Hummer will donate $20 to Tread Lightly if you do.
Sounds worthy.
Tread Lightly has a name that invokes positive emotion from any hiker and they have a cute cartoon squirrel for a mascot.
And any similarity to the type of environmental stewardship we're interested in pretty much stops there.
Because "Tread" has nothing to do with walking.
That squirrel drives a four wheeler, pours gasoline over its cereal, and digs ruts for recreation.
Tread Lightly counts among their corporate sponsors:
American Motorcyclist Association
American Suzuki Motor Corporation
ARB 4x4 Accessories
Arctic Cat, Inc.
Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover
BF Goodrich Tires
Let's stop there. The list is long.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Hummer. So back to Hummer.
Right, so test drive a Hummer at ORSM'06 and you essentially fund an
organization hell bent on promoting motorized recreation on public
lands.
That's just friggin' great. Welcome to the new face of the Outdoor Industry Association.
Hummer, of course, defends itself.
Nick Richards (Hummer's communications manager and apparently, chief
pimp of environmental education) said in the Salt Lake Tribune this
morning that Hummer seeks the active lifestyle market represented by
many of us.
I bet they do.
Nothing like seeing one of the grossest symbols of American frivolity
waltz up a jeep trail to a remote trailhead and spill out five
ultralight backpackers out to commune with nature, eh?
Who invited these guys?
Clearly, OR let them in the door. But rumor has it that the formal
invite was extended by Outside magazine. Hummer, after all, is
certainly one of their major advertisers. Outside's CPEE Josephine Parr
said "Hummer brings another dimension to the show".
Right.
A dimension that fools people into thinking that Hummer actually has
something to contribute to the long term health of the Outdoor Industry
by funding an organization with a recreational use agenda dominated by
motorized vehicle use.
Also in the Tribune article, kayak maker Pyranha's Dick Good said "If
they [Hummer hammerers] are so worried, why did we all fly to Salt Lake
City and make this 45-minute drive from Salt Lake up here?"
See Dick run...
...From the very core of our industry's passion that allows him to even
sell his products. Don't believe me? Then read the marketing B.S. that
graces the Pyranha home page. Catch phrases like "not just
another...company" and "we're the same now as we were 30 years ago" etc.
I don't have a problem with SUV's per se. One can responsibly use the
right tool for the job, right? After all, we do need some means of
getting to the trailhead, and in some cases, those trailheads are
remote and travel over rough roads. Trucks, and SUV's, can get us there.
Ironically, however, the number of large truck and SUV owners that
actually use their SUV's to go to places that require a huge,
high-clearance vehicle, is abysmally small.
Does a housewife need a Suburban to run her child to and from soccer practice?
Does a visitor on a driving tour of the National Parks really need a supercab truck to do it?
Do we need a vehicle that spends $100 in gasoline to make the 300-mile
round trip from the city up a well-maintained road to a Sierra
trailhead?
What the Outdoor Industry Association, Outdoor Retailer, Outside
magazine, and Hummer have done this year is take eyes off of human
powered sports with this absurd and knowingly controversial move,
contributed to the national agenda of motorized vehicle use on public
lands, and thus have placed a desire for short term sensationalism over
the desire for long term industry health.
Choices must be made at a fundamental, personal level if we are to make
a difference. The environmental damage and other costs of the recent BP
pipeline failure on Alaska's North Slope dictates that our dependence
on petroleum energy is unavoidable. As much as we'd like to, BPL Staff
can't walk to SLC. Nor can we carpool, as we're too far distributed
around the country. But while we're here, we'll do what we can. We'll
carpool to and from our hotel (five of us folks in a compact car at 34
MPG), we'll take the shuttle to Willard Bay for the Open Air Demo, and
we'll use our hotel towels for a few days. Small measures, for sure,
but taken with some sensitivity to personal responsibility. We'll do
our best to tread lightly while we're here.
And we won't demo drive the Hummer.
=======END======
http://www.treadlightly.org/images/education/4WheelDriveGuide.pdf
Tread Lightly! Guide to Responsible Four Wheeling
Owners of General Motor's HUMMERŪ vehicles are familiar with the
company's legacy of environmental and off highway stewardship. When it
comes to taking HUMMERs off highway, GM's intent is to do everything it
can to help ensure its owners are safe and responsible drivers.
That's why all HUMMER owners have the opportunity to become members of
the Tread Lightly! organization. We share a common goal of protecting
the great outdoors through education, and support the five principles
of the Tread Lightly! pledge.
In short, GM measures its environmental progress in three areas: products, plants and partnerships.
The HUMMER H1 we offer today is among the most recyclable vehicles
manufactured. Furthermore, the HUMMER's agile off highway or back
country capabilities help reduce its environmental impact when taken in
the backcountry.
The AM General manufacturing facility in Mishawaka, Ind., that builds
all civilian HUMMER H1s and military Humvees boasts an exemplary
environmental record.
Resource management activities initiated at the plant help ensure the
processes and materials we use to build our vehicles minimize our
environmental impact.
HUMMER's partnership with Tread Lightly! speaks for itself -- the
HUMMER brand team is proud to support Tread Lightly! and our
partnership to promote responsible and safe four-wheeling.
Michael DiGiovanni HUMMER Marketing Director
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