Mirage Ad

[Arvoitus 1]

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Please do inform me how exactly it is 'fun or creative' to take a picture of a half naked chick with a rig.

Thats like the advertisement version of 'your mom' joke.

In the civilized world (outside of US of A) there is nothing racy about a naked woman.

However I personally do feel that it is demeaning towards me as male to think that you can sell, whatever it is that you're selling, by showing some female skin.

If that makes me an uptight über serious person then so be it.

Fact is I need to buy a new rig and I had considered Mirage as one option. After those two ads I won't buy one.

1) I thought the ad was funny. It certainly has a less than serious tone about it.. Creative? No I'm in agreement with you there. But, a light-hearted, and fun ad nonetheless.

2) I would argue that there is a difference between an anatomical "picture of a naked woman," and a picture of a woman taking off sexy panties with high heels on. Can't see the difference? Well, your loss.

3) You must feel demeaned quite often. Advertising is bullshit, we all know it. Its all about trying to make you buy a product that you a) probably don't need, and b) could find elsewhere. But to feel demeaned by it? Get real. Again, I don't think the ad was seriously implying that girls will fuck you if you jump a Mirage. The only girls that might, almost (but probably not) care about your rig, are those that skydive.. And they make up what? Maybe 0.5% of the female population, if that? I also don't think the ad was trying to insinuate that you are so stupid as to think that girls will fuck you because you jump a mirage. I think, and I'm no expert here, that it was A JOKE. A crass joke? Sure, maybe. But I'm sure you've been, and will continue to be exposed to much worse at the dropzone, at the bar, on the internet, and maybe even in the grocery store when you accidentally look at the cover of a Maxim magazine.


So, in summary-- You are undeniably entitled to your opinion, and I to mine. Don't buy a Mirage if you don't want one, I certainly don't give a shit. Would you be as upset if Mirage posted an ad of a man dropping his boxers with the caption "Nothing makes them drop faster than a woman in a Mirage!"? Or would you see that as an obvious attempt at humor?

I don't care what they were trying to achieve with it or what they were trying to imply with it. Whenever I see sex or nudity used in ads I assume, if it seems its targeted to males, that the advertisers really have so low opinion about men in general that they can sell what ever crap to them by showing some skin.

I do my best to avoid ads in general since it seems most ad agencies think that the best way to advertise something is the piss of the customer, since any publicity is good publicity so might as well as get people pissed off cause that way they'll at least be remembered (and talked about).

Would I be offended if the genders were reversed? Unlikely, but mainly because there isn't a negative stereotype of women where as men are generally considered to be so desperate for a fuck that they'll do anything to get laid. Even so as to buy mediocre overpriced products advertised with titties.

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Be that as it may,,check with major Ad Agency's.....its worked since before WW 2 and has continued to work. Maybe not on you but definately on millions and millions........

I'm not saying it doesn't, obviously it does since it is used so much, I just wanted to give my reasons why I felt offended by the ad since people were wondering.

So to recap: whenever an advertisement, mainly targeted to males, implies (even slightly) that buying the product increases the chances of getting laid, I assume that the advertisers in question really have so low opinion of men in general that they think we are apes driven by our basic instincts.

And that is why I was offended and continue to be offended whenever its done again.

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[skyrider 0]

Life must suck for you!

[Arvoitus 1]

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Life must suck for you!

Why? Because I don't like to be treated disrespectfully by the companies whose products I'm supposed to pay money for?

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[billvon 2,394]

>Whenever I see sex or nudity used in ads I assume, if it seems its
>targeted to males, that the advertisers really have so low opinion about
> men in general that they can sell what ever crap to them by showing
>some skin.

History has shown that they CAN sell crap to men by showing them skin. So it may be a low opinion, but it's accurate.

>I assume that the advertisers in question really have so low opinion of
>men in general that they think we are apes driven by our basic instincts.

Well, apes don't buy rigs. But men (and women) are indeed driven by their baser instincts, and advertisers take advantage of that,

[Bolas 5]

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Please do inform me how exactly it is 'fun or creative' to take a picture of a half naked chick with a rig.

please inform me how half naked she is .
Please inform me where the rig is on the ad.

To me the people who think anything bad from the Mirage adverts are perverts. They see evil everywhere. ( . Y . )

+1 ( o Y o )

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[fossg 0]

A rig can only do so much. The way I look I will need a Mirage for every day of the week, ten mil in my wallet, plus a Corvette...even then its gonna be a bit of a wait. Gotta use my sense of humor I guess..

[ryoder 1,381]

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I don't care what they were trying to achieve with it or what they were trying to imply with it. Whenever I see sex or nudity used in ads I assume, if it seems its targeted to males, that the advertisers really have so low opinion about men in general that they can sell what ever crap to them by showing some skin.

Gee, now why would they target men?

Year	Male	Female	N/R	TOTAL

2009	85%	13%	2%	32,177

Ref: http://www.uspa.org/AboutSkydiving/SkydiverDemographics/tabid/303/Default.aspx

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Even so as to buy mediocre overpriced products advertised with titties.

Mirage mediocre?
I regard Mirage and Micron as being the top two containers.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Airviking 0]

I still refuse to believe this was a serious attempt by Mirage to use sex as a tool to sell state of the art harness/ container systems. Yes "Sex sells." is a universally true statement, but it is not the most effect sales tool in every instance. And as with any tool, it needs to be used correctly to do the job. Just throwing a hottie onto a page without any (or hardly any) connection to the product, isn't going to sell anything.

I believe you have my stapler.

[nigel99 143]

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I still refuse to believe this was a serious attempt by Mirage to use sex as a tool to sell state of the art harness/ container systems. Yes "Sex sells." is a universally true statement, but it is not the most effect sales tool in every instance. And as with any tool, it needs to be used correctly to do the job. Just throwing a hottie onto a page without any (or hardly any) connection to the product, isn't going to sell anything.

I don't think it is sex sells. I think its a case of the right type of controversy keeps you being talked about. There is NOTHING sexual about the latest ad and yet it still got this thread buzzing again.

It has been an amazingly successful marketing campaign and I guess they have 1 or 2 more issues to milk it before it dies away and this thread moves down to the wasteland of page 2 and below.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[wmw999 2,120]

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I still refuse to believe this was a serious attempt by Mirage to use sex as a tool to sell state of the art harness/ container systems

Probably more an attempt to use discussion, publicity, and change to sell what they produce.

It's being discussed -- it'd be interesting to see their sales figures for the next six months. However, those are probably guarded, and the overall number of new containers sold is probably small enough that there'd be some statistical doubt as to whether the effect is real.

But I'll bet the next time a "which container do you jump" poll is posted, Mirage will not be left out

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Airviking 0]

So, what are they doing? Using controversy to "put Mirage on the map"? Get the name out there? Does Mirage really need to think in those terms? I'm thinking everybody knows Mirage, at least jumpers who are seriously shopping for a system.

I believe you have my stapler.

[billvon 2,394]

>So, what are they doing? Using controversy to "put Mirage on the map"?

They're already on the map. They just want a bigger part of that map.

>I'm thinking everybody knows Mirage, at least jumpers who are seriously
>shopping for a system.

Jumpers who have purchased rigs before are going to know what they want. But new jumpers? That's where the battle for new customers really lies. And to have two or three threads with the word "Mirage" in them on the biggest skydiving forum on the planet helps accomplish that.

[ManagingPrime 0]

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....But new jumpers? That's where the battle for new customers really lies. And to have two or three threads with the word "Mirage" in them on the biggest skydiving forum on the planet helps accomplish that.

Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner!!

[airtwardo 6]

And to have two or three threads with the word "Mirage" in them on the biggest skydiving forum on the planet helps accomplish that.

Bingo!

Mission Accomplished!!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[ryoder 1,381]

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Mission Accomplished!!

Are you trying to move this to SC?

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[livendive 8]

To which ad is this one a response, the one in July with the panties being dropped? If that is still being discussed, than it truly was a great ad!

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[wildcard451 0]

This sums up this thread...

http://xkcd.com/386/