Where are the motorcycle commercials?

Cafe Society
1

:notes: Get yourself a Honda
Built like a watch that was meant to last a hundred years… :notes:

:notes: Yamaha! Won’t you fly me away
Today is the day, don’t look the other way!
Yamaha! Today is the day! :notes:

:notes: Kawasaki lets the good times roll… :notes:

:notes: Forget your troubles, get on Suzuki
We’re gonna chase all your cares away… :notes:

Those jingles are from the motorcycle commercials of my childhood.

When I lived in L.A., I rode my motorcycles year-round. Up here, on the coast of the Salish Sea, I found out there’s this thing called a ‘riding season’; so this time of year I don’t expect to see many commercials for new motorcycles. The thing of it is… I can’t remember the last time I saw any commercials for new motorcycles. Progressive Insurance advertises their motorcycle insurance, but you’d think no one is selling motorcycles because no one is advertising.

So what’s the deal? If you want to ride, you don’t need to see ads? But if you want to ride, wouldn’t you want to see the Latest and Greatest from Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki (HYKS)? Where are the motorcycle commercials?

(If anyone has links to the commercials with the jingles for Honda and Yamaha posted above, please post them!)

2

I’ve seen a few during Moto GP racing, but anywhere else, not so much.

3

It’s a pretty niche market; a few moments of googling indicates that less than 10% of U.S. households own a motorcycle (various sites are showing numbers from 4% to 8%). I don’t know what the average purchase cycle is for buying a new motorcycle, but if it’s anything like automobiles, I’d guess that only 1 to 2% of Americans are actively in the market for buying a new bike (or even starting to think about buying a new one) at any given time. And, further, there are different segments in the motorcycle industry (high-end road cruisers, off-road, etc.), which likely appeal to different buyers (or at least different uses), which would narrow the appeal for any particular brand’s advertising even further.

Generally speaking, companies that cater to niche/narrow interests don’t find it worthwhile to advertise in mass channels (like network television), as those channels can be very expensive, and most people who see such an ad are not only not currently in the market for the product, but will never be in the market for one.

As @Gatopescado notes, it wouldn’t surprise me if motorcycle manufacturers do run TV ads on programming and channels that are more likely to appeal to motorcycle enthusiasts.

Compared to decades ago (and the TV ads in the OP), there are many media channels available now which can be more precisely targeted to a particular audience (including social media, streaming video, etc.), and that’s likely where the motorcycle manufacturers are focusing now. Speaking as an advertising professional, if I had a client whose target audience was that narrow, I’d certainly be advising them against placing ads in general-market media, in which so much of their money would be wasted.

So, why does Progressive do it? Well, first of all, every motorcycle owner needs to ensure their bike. And, unlike the motorcycle category, where there are different segments, and people who are interested in one type of bike may not have any interest in another, Progressive’s motorcycle insurance can cover every type of motorcycle (and, thus, appeal to all owners). Finally, I will bet you that the motorcycle ads are a tiny fraction of Progressive’s overall ad spend.

4

This. The only time I’ve seen motorcycle ads is during motorsports/sports viewing. Back in the day, they were just… on. I remember seeing the first ad for a Honda Rebel while watching Mtv, when they still showed videos.

5

For comparison: roughly 12% of Americans play golf. Manufacturers of golf clubs and golf balls run television ads regularly – but pretty much only during televised golf tournaments, where the viewership is likely to be highly skewed towards people who are interested in (and play) the sport, and thus are likely to be interested in, and in the market for, golf equipment.

In other words, just like motorcycles, you pretty much never see ads for golf clubs during prime-time network television programs, either.

6

I see Harley commercials (I think) from time to time and the big Harley dealership in my area has billboards and, I think, radio spots. But I can’t tell you the last time I saw an ad for a Honda or Kawasaki or anything else really.

Of course, brands like Harley, with a wait list that can famously be months or years long, you really don’t need to advertise.
The non-Harley brands seem to be sold through general ‘motorsports’ dealerships that have everything from used snowmobiles and ATVs to brand new Ninjas and Goldwings. I’m thinking those places don’t have the budget or the interest to run commercials, though I do hear radio spots and see billboards for them.

Took my rider safety class on a beat up, old, barely working Rebel. I’m still glad the dealership talked me out of buying one (and into Shadow 750, which proved to be a great first bike).

7

And, there’s a difference between locally-placed ads for a local dealer, versus national ads for the brand/manufacturer (which seems to be what the OP is mostly asking about).

8

Yes. I was talking about national ads put out by the manufacturers.

This makes sense. When I was a kid, we had ABC, CBS, and NBC (plus KPBS, and local stations KTLA, KCOP, KTTV, and UHF channels 39 (I don’t remember the letters) and XTRA in San Diego). [Aside: I think having so many channels today has weakened national unity. But that’s something for another thread.]

9

In 1992, the median age of motorcycle riders was 32. Now it’s 48. Motorcycle sales peaked in the US in 2005, and is now less than half of what it was then.

Older people are harder to convince through advertising. Younger people are not buying motorcycles. Apparently, Harley Davidson owns 55% of the over-35 demographic. So it may be that national advertising for motorcycles just isn’t cost effective anymore.

Motorcycles are now under threat from E-bikes, which are lighter, easier to own and care for, and in a city can do almost everything a motorcycle can. I’ve been thinking of selling my KLR650 and buying an E-bike.

Motorcycling is becoming an old person’s activity, like so many hobbies young people had a generation ago but no longer do. When I was a kid, RC model flying fields were full of young people. Today, an RC event mostly draws in retired folks. Sometimes not a single kid to be seen. Ham radio, the same. Motorcycles are part of that.

10

I don’t know about that. When I go into the office I see a fair number of motorcycles on the freeway. To be sure, there are a lot of Harleys and touring bikes ridden by older people; but there are also a lot of sportbikes ridden by younger people.

11

Are you in California? California is still an outlier in that regard.

WhenI go into a bile shop around here, the clientele is awfully grey bearded.

Have a look at a gathering of bikers these days.

12

Biased sample size and all, but my son has 4-5 bikes at any given time and I work with a lot of young people with bikes. Then I come across so many others (skewed by my son riding with them and working on their bikes, of course). My own area (Midwest US) seems to be a couple old, fat guys on Harleys here and there and a lot of young guys on sport bikes (and also illegally operated dirt bikes)

13

Not anymore.

14

My local weekly motorcycling get together is skewed heavily towards the retro cafe racer crowd and even then the group is… not young on average. When I head to Angeles Crest, the Malibu canyons or CA 33 out of Ojai, when I see someone take their helmet off, I’m surprised when it’s not graying hair underneath.

Edit: for context for non-locals, the places I named lean heavy toward sport bikes, traditionally a younger crowd than the Harley riders.

15

Used to love going to The Rock Store.

ETA: I could sure go for a chili size.

16

The Rock Store is still busy, but not quite what it was. Since the Woolsey Fire and the following mudslides in 2018 it’s been on a dead-end stretch of road. Without the Snake as a key part of the attraction, crowds have drifted elsewhere.

17

Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. A very long time.

I was about 19 the last time I hit the Rock Store.

Being from Orange County, the Ortega Highway = CA-99 was more our local equivalent to Malibu canyon. This was the equivalent to The Rock Store:

I don’t recall what it was called back then, something basic like “Rosies Place”. And it was more of a beer & burgers for bikers joint back then.

18

My Orange County riding was the 10 to the 405 to the 22 to The City Dr. to go to work and back.

19

That was not nearly as scenic. :slight_smile: My Mom worked at one of the offices in the main tower at The City for a couple years shortly after it opened. I’d have been around age 12. Things have changed a bit since then:

20

I’ve been riding since about 1976, and, IMHO, the public image of motorcyclists as a whole is at an all-time low.

When I started riding, a motorcycle was a relatively inexpensive option for transportation. With a few exceptions, riders were well-behaved and courteous. Most of them still are, but there’s a sizable percentage that are pure a-holes.

And I’m not talking just about the ones who seem to enjoy dangerous and aggressive (but perhaps technically legal) lane-splitting, weaving, and speeding. There are problems in many cities with completely unlicensed bikes and riders performing all sorts of extremely dangerous maneuvers on public streets. A lot of this is strictly for YT and to aggravate the public. It’s been a big problem in Durham, NC, recently.

Rehabilitating the general image of motorcycles and riders would probably be more beneficial than advertising a specific manufacturer or model.

(And, to all the GOOD riders out there, thank you for preserving our image. I hate to tell people I still ride and have them look at me like I’m a pedophile.)