Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Commute by Bicycle? [Hysterical laughter]

Busy week here for our household and out-of-town (well, country actually) family en route, but I just had to link this video below. I have viewed it multiple times over the last couple of weeks and it always seems to get under my skin. I'm trying to pinpoint exactly why. Is it the creepy-fakey acting? Maybe. More than likely though, I think it's that I'm disturbed that the idea of commuting by bicycle is so laughable to these folks... and it's not even a car commercial. Perhaps it goes back to my thought from a prior post that there should be a bicycle commuting campaign to help the mass population understand that riding a bike to work is not laughable.

Maybe it's not as bad as it seems to me. I just don't like that an already highly accepted idea is being reinforced, but perhaps no one is reading into it that much? Your thoughts?

11 comments:

  1. Mortal sin, breaking up the carpool....

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  2. The way I see it is this: who would want to be these people?

    So it does a great job to sell the message: "get me the hell out of this car -- running and screaming -- and find me a bike!"

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  3. She's bending to peer pressure, laughing off the idea of riding to work. But, you got to admit she captured their attention. Perhaps she really is serious though...who knows?

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  4. part II of commercial: they're all cycling to work in an echelon.

    "Wells Fargo: our customers are happy customers."

    I'm waiting!

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  5. That's just...weird.
    "Seriously, though, what's a bike for?"

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    Replies
    1. A bike is for taking up space in your garage, or as a trophy on top of your car.

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    2. Agreed. The ad itself is just bizarre, I would say, Kendra.

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    3. Yes, it is "weird" - to us. But probably not weird to ask that question for the majority of people in the US. Maybe something we can change over time? That buying a bike would have an reason behind it that is obvious to the majority of Americans. For a few of us, owning (riding) a bike is a lifestyle choice. But it is sobering to realize we are a small minority. All the more reason for this blog and others.

      There is a resurgence of biking in the US, but the focus of the biking community is on infrastructure. Bike lanes, bike share programs, etc. I feel that this commercial shows that the real challenge is educating Americans about bikes and changing attitudes.

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