Time to write letters...

[Andrea]

Check out the Pearl Izumi ad in the latest issue of Velonews. Apparently it takes large breasts & prominent nipples to advertise how well your newest line of clothing fits. I honestly don't really care about the visible nipples, but I know that more than a few people out there probably do. I'm more pissed off about using "faceless tits in a jersey" to advertise cycling apparel. It's objectifying, and (I'm assuming) it's a step backwards from how actual women in jerseys would like to be perceived.
Personally, as a competitive cyclist, I've seen how hard it can be to have women's racing taken seriously. I don't think this helps.

I'm sending emails to both PI and Velonews to let them know that I don't appreciate it. At all.

[wnyrider]

Is there a direct on-line link? I went to Velonews.com and didn't see it, unless the ads change. Do you have a scan of it from your issue that you can post?

[Biciclista]

I have it in my email. Andrea has it on her blog now.

[sundial]

Mimi, send it to me also. I don't get Velonews.

[wnyrider]

I have it in my email. PM me if you want to see it. (I'll need your email address)

Received it... thanks! Yes- it is very inappropriate as it is blatantly erotic. And, if it were of the male genitalia-- well, we wouldn't even have a chance to see it since it wouldn't even have a chance of getting published in a mainstream publication. It isn't even just the nipples I am offended at, it is the areola being obvious as well. Andrea, or anyone else, do you know if this particular shirt is transparent?

[Fujichants]

Thanks Mimi for emailing the picture.

It looks awful. Seriously...what were they thinking?? If this is targeted towards women, why on earth would we be attracted to THAT? "Oooh...I want to buy that shirt now so I can show off my nipples to all the hot racer guys". Seriously. Ugh.

[NJBikeGal]

I second all that was said above. Andrea, if you have a direct link or address, could you post it (or PM me). I'll be happy to write a letter and I'm sure the members of my all-female cycling team would do the same!

[Aggie_Ama]

Thanks Mimi.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what that will accomplish. I don't want that jersey. I hope my husband wouldn't buy it for me thinking I will ride around like that girl! This definitely does not help promote competitive women's cycling. I am not sure what bugs me about it but the whole thing just makes me a little sick.

[Andrea]

I've uploaded Mimi's scan to my blog if anyone wants to see and/or download it. Just click the link in my signature!

You guy rock, by the way...

[lph]

Well that's a reason to wear a sports bra if I ever saw one :eek:

[alpinerabbit]

I can't get the idea out of my mind that this is actually a photoshop job - sort of like digital body painting. The detail is too, well, detailed to be fabric.

Actually I'm positive. look at the big tendons on the neck where they meet the claviculae. That is never cloth on skin. Why the need to fake it?

This does not make it any less sexist or ridiculous. Actually it makes it very ridiculous.

[Biciclista]

I can't get the idea out of my mind that this is actually a photoshop job - sort of like digital body painting. The detail is too, well, detailed to be fabric.

Actually I'm positive. look at the big tendons on the neck where they meet the claviculae. That is never cloth on skin. Why the need to fake it?

This does not make it any less sexist or ridiculous. Actually it makes it very ridiculous.

that's what i thought too. And thanks for posting it on your blog, Andrea.

oh, and I got it from PansyPalmetto!!!

[Becky]

After all that effort to create something controversial and sensational, and I still have no idea what product is being advertised... :rolleyes:

Giant FAIL, Pearl Izumi.

[OakLeaf]

Ugh.

I don't much care for PI garb anyway, but I'll definitely look for something else next time I need a new pair of gloves or toe covers.

[indysteel]

I've uploaded Mimi's scan to my blog if anyone wants to see and/or download it. Just click the link in my signature!



I don't get Velonews so thanks for posting the picture in your blog.

Oh my; that's just awful. And shame on Velonews for accepting the ad.

[Red Rock]

I agree to all what has been said before. This is discusting. They must be selling other matters and not cycling clothes. I would be more than happy to write a letter to whomever.

That is one reason I have continued to look at men's clothes for cycling. They have larger pockets and the jerseys have longer front zippers. Not only that, the sleeves are actual sleeves not a wanna-be sleeve that gives you no coverage. Also there seems to be more choice in what to wear.

Red Rock

[Miranda]

They could have at least put a freakin sports bra on her and showed the t.h.o. if they really wanted to. That at least does happen in real life cycling for women. An un-modest moment for women, and a cheap thrill for any male riding partners. There's no woman I know who wants their girls free wheelin it in the wind and jarring with potholes braless over the top tube. Gheez:mad:...

[sundial]

It looks like body paint that was photoshopped in with part of the jersey. Grrrrr. Are they trying to compete with Assos soft porn?? :mad: :mad:

[Grog]

So what's the email address of Velonews? And what's your contact for PI?

[Andrea]

I used the general contact forms on their websites. The couple of times I've had complaints about a manufacturer in the past, I've found that those work to get your message forwarded to the right people.

[short cut sally]

I just looked at the pic Andrea, and wow. I think PI should start selling lingerie, cuz that's what it looks like to me..or should I say, I've seen lingerie that is less revealing than that photo. As a female cyclist, I am offended by that ad. Sex sells I guess. Are they advertising a mans or ladies jersey? Only men would find that ad appropriate (ok, 99% of the men I know as not to offend the appropriate men we have here).

[Irulan]

I can't get the idea out of my mind that this is actually a photoshop job - sort of like digital body painting. The detail is too, well, detailed to be fabric.

Actually I'm positive. look at the big tendons on the neck where they meet the claviculae. That is never cloth on skin. Why the need to fake it?

This does not make it any less sexist or ridiculous. Actually it makes it very ridiculous.

yep, photo shop if I ever saw one.

I can't add anything else that hasn't been said.

[Mistie]

My DH gets it and so this afternoon, it was waiting in the mailbox. I checked out the picture. First of all, for those of you unfamiliar with Velonews, the magazine pages are 11"h x 9"w. I think this is a pretty large magazine compared to my Nat Geo. The ad is two full pages and the nipple is life size. Too sexist for my taste. So, I showed it to DH. He looked at it and said, what is PI trying to sell, a boob job or soft porn? I asked if he thought it was a "nice" picture and he laughed. He said he would have skipped it entirely if I had not shown it to him since it is for women and he is only interested in that if he thinks I would like it. He laughed again and said he knew for a fact that I would not be interested in that jersey. I think he is still chuckling over that. I asked him if he thought it was gratuitous or sexist and he agreed most definitely. "Sex sells, honey," he says and then kisses my head, pats my bottom, and compliments me as he starts unwrapping a power bar. Men! It's all about the visual aids there.

[TrekTheKaty]

Obviously they have missed the mark. I would have guessed it was an ad aimed at men--but if the men don't get it--they should fire their marketing firm.

As I always say, "If I wanted to see nipples--I would look in the mirror. I've got my own!"

[tygab]

that is a poor ad if they are trying to sell to woman because it says nothing about the clothes, and a poor ad if they are trying to sell to men. I mean, would a guy think he's sexy like a female if he buys PI clothes or something? :confused:

anyway I'll be writing to let them know I'm disappointed.

The "Contact us" email from the PI site is: info@pearlizumi.com.

Maybe that'll get them some spam, too. :D

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

I sent them my thoughts on this also...

Thanks for the heads-up, gf!

[Grog]

I think the idea is to have men spend a bit of time looking at the poster and registering the PI logo in their brain.

Or bike mechanics posting it in the back of their shop.

My brother has a (car) mechanics shop and you wouldn't believe the calendar they're receiving... I knew they existed but I thought they were a thing of the past. No way.

[tygab]

I think the idea is to have men spend a bit of time looking at the poster and registering the PI logo in their brain.

Or bike mechanics posting it in the back of their shop.

My brother has a (car) mechanics shop and you wouldn't believe the calendar they're receiving... I knew they existed but I thought they were a thing of the past. No way.

I know, it's aimed at brand recognition/association. But they can do it in a whole bunch of other ways that wouldn't offend a reasonably large proportion of their customers. PI has upset me with another campaign they've run in Runner's World, denigrating "jogging" versus "running." In an age where too many are inactive, any form of exerciser should be praised and a potential customer. I didn't email them about those, but this is probably enough to push me away from Pearl Izumi. I'm liking other brands more anyway these days...

[Pedal Wench]

The "Contact us" email from the PI site is: info@pearlizumi.com.

Maybe that'll get them some spam, too. :D

Letter written and sent.

[Trek420]

And, if it were of the male genitalia-- well, we wouldn't even have a chance to see it ....

Because like the scan it would say "I’ve made it small on purpose. Click for full-size):" ? ;) :) :rolleyes::D

[Fujichants]

I just showed it to BF and got no reaction out of him. He just glanced over, and said: cool.

Lol, I slapped his arm and made him look closer and he starts laughing.

Wonder what this means?

[Andrea]

Most guys file this ad under the "who cares" section of their brain.

[7rider]

I think the idea is to have men spend a bit of time looking at the poster and registering the PI logo in their brain.

Or bike mechanics posting it in the back of their shop.

My brother has a (car) mechanics shop and you wouldn't believe the calendar they're receiving... I knew they existed but I thought they were a thing of the past. No way.

I think that is exactly the intent.

I cruised the PI (http://www.pearlizumi.com/shop.php?pc_id=104&mode=products)website and there isn't even a "jersey" (and yes, I feel compelled to put that in quotes! :rolleyes:) of that design in their lineup.
So they are not advertising a jersey, or even a women's line of bike clothing....they are marketing a logo.

[Irulan]

I just showed it to BF and got no reaction out of him. He just glanced over, and said: cool.

Lol, I slapped his arm and made him look closer and he starts laughing.

Wonder what this means?


It means, they don't care that a lot of us gals get worked up about this stuff, and that they'd rather put it up on the garage wall. Mars and Venus, ya know?

I've never known a guy to not be interested in boobies.

[Grog]

Dear Pearl Izumi,

I am gaping in awe, disgust, and disbelief at your logo advertisement published in a recent issue of Velonews. On the part of a company like Pearl Izumi, which has a decent selection of products aimed at women and, I thought, some understanding of women road cycling, this comes as a big surprise, and a disappointing one to say the least.

Understand me well: I have nothing against nudity. What I am enraged at is that you are turning a faceless woman into an object to expose your company's logo.

What you are effectively selling is a naked woman body, albeit with some airbrushed colour on it. Of course all the image is really advertising is your logo, which perhaps you hope some men will record in some obscure part of their brain as they gape at the woman's nipples. Are you hoping that, if your investment pays off, some bike mechanics will post it up in their shop?

It is unfortunate that a major cycling gear manufacturer such as PI be so unaware, or so uncaring, about the people who form a significant portion of their clients. Women buy your gear for themselves, but also frequently buy for their loved ones. (It takes a lot of work to get my husband to replace his ratty old bike shorts, and nipples in a magazine are not going to be enough to convince him that it's time to go out and try on a few.)

You HAVE to become aware of how chilly the climate already is for women in cycling, and even more so for women who wrench or otherwise work in bike shops. Pearl Izumi should avoid by all means contributing to the cold draft of slight to open intimidation that women feel on their necks when they get involved in cycling. I've always thought that mountain biking was where most of the bad stuff happened, the road cycling scene being increasingly open to women. And then I saw your ad. What a set back!

Under the current economic circumstances, in which road cycling gear purchases are most likely going to be postponed by many North Americans, I am surprised that Pearl Izumi thought it was in its best interest to further alienate women buyers. If such was not your intention, I sincerely hope that you will amend yourself, pull out the ridiculous ad, and apologize, perhaps by a letter to be published in Velonews and wherever the ad was published? Hopefully Pearl Izumi will, in the future, play an active role in the empowerment of women cyclists, a strategic move that will certainly have more effect on the bottom line than faceless naked women in a magazine.

Yours sincerely,

My signature

[Andrea]

That's awesome!

[Fujichants]

You HAVE to become aware of how chilly the climate already is for women in cycling, and even more so for women who wrench or otherwise work in bike shops. Pearl Izumi should avoid by all means contributing to the cold draft of slight to open intimidation that women feel on their necks when they get involved in cycling. I've always thought that mountain biking was where most of the bad stuff happened, the road cycling scene being increasingly open to women. And then I saw your ad. What a set back!

I love that part!!

[Misandal]

I have this issue of VeloNews and have been reading it, so when I saw this post yesterday, I rushed home to look in the mag to see what I missed. And I had totally missed it - flipped right on past it. So when I found the ad and gave it a good look, not only was I SHOCKED but I couldn't even tell what they were advertising or who they were advertising it to. :confused: Whoever their marketing people are really missed it on that one. They made a lot of women mad for apparently no reason at all. Good one, PI!

I way prefer the "Happy Azz" ads.

[badgercat]

This ad is even haunting me in my sleep. :eek:

I had a dream last night that I was in a LBS with a bunch of people I know (some whom I haven't seen since high school :confused:) listening to the owner talk, and then he mentioned that he also does advertising and was really proud of his latest creation for Pearl Izumi. I said "Wait, you mean that awful, disgusting one that objectifies women terribly?" and he got this $#!t-eating grin on his face and said "yup!" So I said, "Well, then you've just lost a customer" and stormed out. Then some of the aforementioned high school people who I never really got along with that well were making fun of me for overreacting. That's the last thing I remember from the dream.

*scratches head*

[Trek420]

not only was I SHOCKED but I couldn't even tell what they were advertising or who they were advertising it to. :confused: Whoever their marketing people are really missed it on that one.

Back in the day when I worked in design this was drummed into our tiny little heads "remember your target audience" :mad:

What were they thinking? :confused: :eek: :confused:

They missed one audience (men who like bQQbs) and offended the other (us) :cool: and did not even identify the product.

Somewhere in an advertising firm I imagine that heads are rolling as we speak :rolleyes:

[dex]

I wonder if this is from CP+B (Crispin Porter + Bogusky). They've done a good bit of work for Peal Izumi in the past, including the We Are Not Joggers campaign, which got a lot of praise in the agency world. On the other hand, they also did some awful work for Nike that got them pretty widely mocked (and then fired by Nike).

This one is a definite miss, though. Feh.

[Lifesgreat]

:mad:

This is what I emailed to PI:

I love your products, especially your ultra sensor shorts and jackets. I spend a lot of my discretionary income on cycling products, including Pearl Izumi items.

However, I won't be spending any more money on your company's products. I have found some of your most recent ads to be vulgar, sexist and inappropriate. I decided the best way to express my dissatisfaction is to no longer buy Pearl Izumi products.

Yes, I may be a prude, but I am a prude who has money to spend on cycling.

Sincerely,
/s/

[tygab]

:I wonder if this is from CP+B (Crispin Porter + Bogusky). They've done a good bit of work for Peal Izumi in the past, including the We Are Not Joggers campaign, which got a lot of praise in the agency world.::

well, they were noticeable and I suppose provocative. But if making fun of people exercising garners praise, I am glad I am not in that world.

I am not alone in this view... Google is proof.

[ginny]

Here's my letter (perhaps not as eloquent as Grog's <-- nice letter, Grog!)

I just saw the ad in VeloNews for the... uh... jersey (?). Really? Whoever thought this was a good idea should be fired! As a female cyclist, I hope to be respected for my ability rather than my ... uh... parts! Moreover, this seems to be an ad directed at women. I am a member of a large, female specific cycling forum, and I am afraid you have just lost a number of female customers. I'm sure your ad people are aware that women usually have a big influence over what is purchased for the household in general, so, in addition to royally pissing off serious women cyclists (and any woman with any self respect), you have probably also lost a number of men customers as their wives would promptly return any PI purchases in the near future. I happen to like PI cycling clothes, but there are others out there that are comparable, and I will not be purchasing anything from PI in the near future.

I do hope you retract this ad and post an apology to the female cycling community.

[bluebug32]

Wow, kind of shocked at how graphic that is :eek:

Maybe this photo will help them sell some bibs:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140812&stc=1&d=1222023361

[Skierchickie]

Is it possible that they are trying to say "Our cycling clothes are so comfortable, you won't know they're there"?? Even so, this is inexcusable.

[Mr. Bloom]

A male perspective:

I don't think it's aimed at guys, but at brand awareness through achieved the "shock factor". I'm not an ad guru, but the trend in men's magazines has been away from nudity. This picture is clearly photoshopped and anyone seeing it would know its not real...and fake tends to be unappealing.

This has proven to be bad business in the past. Consider a few years ago when Abercrombie had to withdraw a racy ad campaign. Overnight, their stock went down 25% and lost much of its luster for about 18 months. I remember this because I owned the stock at the time...and sold it in disgust at a loss.

[Andrea]

So has anyone heard back from PI or Velonews? I know I haven't :mad:

[Pax]

So has anyone heard back from PI or Velonews? I know I haven't :mad:

Hell, I didn't hear back from PI when I was trying buy some gear. They don't seem to be too big on communication.

[VeloVT]

Hell, I didn't hear back from PI when I was trying buy some gear. They don't seem to be too big on communication.

I would just like to say, I sent Castelli a message through the contact form on their website to let them know that the black palms of my Castelli gloves were fading onto my white bar tape, and that I hoped they would fix the issue because otherwise I really liked the gloves and would want to buy them again.

It took about a week, but I got a nice email from the president of Castelli USA, saying that he had forwarded my message to the product development manager and that they would try to address the dye problem. I am pretty sure this is true because the email was open cc'd to someone else at Castelli. I was impressed because it really seemed like a personal response, rather than a form response (the fact that it was open cc'd rather than forwarded or bcc'd made it seem very informal and non-corporate, which suprised me).

I support your letter writing. In the meantime, I will continue to vote with my pocketbook.

[SadieKate]

A few days have passed. Any response from PI yet? I keeep forgetting to look at Velonews in the LBSs so I feel I can't send them a letter directly until I see the ad. I do know that I was in a running/outdoor store earlier this week and mentioned the ad to one of the female clerks. Two other customers piped up that they had seen the ad and were boycotting PI in thorough disgust.

Since PI is now owned by Shimano, another one of the manufacturing bullies of the cycling world, I don't expect much. I was very saddened by the purchase from Nautilus. I have to suspect it was too much competition/conflict with Nike for them to reside under the same "roof."

[SouthernBelle]

I sent an email and never got the courtesy of a response.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I think the photo could be seen as a work of art. But it was intended to sell jerseys for women. A 'serious' vendor of gear (for lack of a better description). It would be something I would expect from someone targeting the casual rider, or someone that wants to look like a rider?! Is there such a thing? Do 20 somethings wear PI gear to raves and night clubs now?? Sounds ridiculous but I would love to know what they are trying to say with that ad.

What rubs me the wrong way is PI is always sooooo smallllll...I'm a 38D (ha NO PUN intended!). It rubs me the wrong way because not all women that ride look like that and furthermore, any woman that seriously rides isn't going to wear that because...she just isn't. It's so unrealistic it is my big pet peeve with athletic gear in general. To me, they are targeting the 'look at me' crowd vs the 'is it drifit and will I be comfortable' crowd. I find that more and more with athletic wear. Sure it looks good but start pounding over rocks and boy...well the girls would be pretty angry. Why can't they just focus on making stuff that fits right for all women?
I wrote half a letter but haven't finished it. I agree, vote with the pocketbook. I'm returning a pair of PI gloves to REI as soon as I can, not because of the ad, but because they are horrible. Seems they should focus on getting that padding right instead of playing the tata card.

[Trek420]

And when you're done writing PI, start with Fiat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDBCLJM3a1w&feature=related

[SadieKate]

And when you're done writing PI, start with Fiat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDBCLJM3a1w&feature=related

Yeah, that is pretty funny.

[Lifesgreat]

I never heard from them after emailing them, unless they are now named Susan or Dorothy and they are trying to sell me "personal medications" intended for men. Don't know if it is them b/c I don't open the emails. . . :D