Here's mine, in case you need inspiration
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,
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