Specialized + McLaren Venge

In this post, I get quite personal. I guess I invest a lot of thought into cycling so it just flows.

Product:

The new Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge.

On face value:

While watching Le Tour, they had an ad with riders from HTC Highroad talking about how great their new bike is.

This video is similar, but not the same as the one on tv:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMXAQDufPrE

The riders would have ridden many bikes during their careers and they would have been very good bikes. The consensus is that this big is the best. Therefore it is the best of the best!

Effect: 

Having the pros from HTC Highroad saying how great the bike is should make everyone go out and buy one. But I remember the debacle from last year with their previous bike supplier Scott.

I personally own a Scott Addict bike and I like it. It is light, handles well and I could upgrade parts so I won't be buying a new bike anytime soon.(Unless this blog really takes off!)

HTC Highroad used Scott Addict bikes for the last few years and said they were great! Other manufacturers were making aerodynamic bikes but Scott said that they will continue to make the lightest bikes possible. Buuttttt, before the start of Le Tour in 2010, HTC Columbia (as they were then known) unveiled the new Scott F01, an aerodynamic bike. The team were saying this was now the bike to have. Their star sprinter Mark Cavendish (aka the "Manx Missile" and the "Man from the Isle of Man") didn't win the first two sprints on the new F01 so he went back to the Addict and won five!

Next thing I know, they change suppliers to Specialized for 2011. Why? Is it because Specialized are better? Maybe? Or will they change to another supplier in a year or two and say the new supplier is the best?

Positives:

The bike looks unbelievable! I bought a Tour de France magazine and it came with a large poster with the bike and a McLaren F1 car in the background. I immediately put it on the wall in my music/bike parts/spare room!

Negative:

I went to their website: http://venge.specialized.com/#/home to see what that had to offer. Unfortunately, they dis their other very expensive bike to say how great this bike is. Given this bike will be so horrendously expensive, most people will only be able to afford their other bikes, which they have just proven to be inferior.

Question:

If I had this bike, would I have to worry about getting speeding tickets?

Subway Ad - Pegasus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbtHraI1edk

Product:

Usually the purveyor of "healthy" fast food, this ad is for the "Smokin' BBQ chicken" sub.

On face value:

First of all, there is a background to this ad. The sandwich artist in this ad used to be Tane on Shortland Street. His character ended up in a wheelchair after being hit by his cousin during a drag race. Tane didn't let his disability get in the way of his goal of becoming the nurse and he left the show to enter nurse training. I guess it is better to leave the show like that, rather than being killed off. That means there is a chance of a comeback. But in the meantime the actor has donned the Subway visor!

Back to the ad, a man (probably a student) is standing at the counter. He is the only customer and the sandwich artist is the only staff member. Moreover, all the condiments are well stocked!

The man asks what comes with the Smokin BBQ chicken. The sandwich artist reels off everything included but makes the mistake of saying, "and anything else you want." This statement is taken literally and they man points at various things in the cabinet but also boldly asks for it to be served on the back of pegasus (the mythical winged horse). The Sandwich artist says, "certainly."

After a short close up of the sub with a voice over, the man is seen outside as he takes a bite and he is then wisked away by pegasus. Then the rockets appear and take the man into space. In the end he got more than he asked for. Now that is customer service!

The ad concludes with the viewer blasted video game effects such as:  "You rule" in big letters, some flames and metal guitar riffs.

Effect: 

This ad is clearly targeted at the younger Subway consumers who don't care if the sub has more than six grams of fat. I suspect those consumers were more interested in a Double Down, and would have a Smokin' BBQ chicken sub the next day as a healthy option!

Positives:

This ad will draw the attention of younger viewers. Us older folk would only get it if Richard Till told us it was good!

Negative:

It is a bit OTT and will have customers going into the shop asking for crazy stuff.

Question:

Why wasn't he asked whether he wanted a six inch or a foot long?

Comment: 

I didn't know pegasus had rockets. But then, the ancient Greeks wouldn't have known what rockets were.