Advertisements are a very important component of the professional skateboarding industry. Ads that are featured in skateboard magazines or on skateboarding websites have several purposes. They let consumers know which companies are sponsoring which professional skaters. They create buzz for upcoming skate videos, and most importantly, they promote new products.
Skateboarding is one of the few advertising markets that is primarily print based. In a world in which Newsweek no longer prints its issues, skateboard magazines like Thrasher are thriving. Two things that most skateboard ads usually share in common are minimal copy and the fact that their target looks at them for longer than the average consumer. It isn’t uncommon for amateur skaters and other fans of skateboarding to decorate their room with ads cut from their favorite magazines. Brands like Axe and Ray Ban have had successful print campaigns in recent years, yet it is lesser known brands like Supra Footwear and Deathwish Skateboard decks whose ads are adorning the walls of their target consumers.
Many modern ads for products within the skateboarding industry follow a similar formula. An ad typically shows one of a companies sponsored riders doing a trick while utilizing the product being advertised. Others simply feature a prominent product shot and a logo.
Skate ads are almost always done in-house by a small team of designers. They usually follow a fairly simply formula, and yet, according to this infographic, they seem to work.
Could this model be applied to other industries? Imagine a Nike ad feature a photo sequence of a popular NBA player performing an impressive dunk in an empty court. There could be something to be learned from an advertising market in which its companies perform their intended goals so well with so few resources.
So what’s the big idea?
I absolutely agree with you here, dude. I’ve hate skateboarding ads on my walls at my parents place since I was ten. I still remember older ads that I saw from years ago. I take so much time flipping through skate magazines. I actually I remember the original ad for the Rowley shoe back in 1999 from Vans. I remember tons of covers and interviews too. But the ads and the sequences are just gold. I’ve always really like Toy Machine ads, Anti Hero, Krooked, and Girl ads the most.
I meant had** not hate in the first line. Sorry for the typo.
Wassup haters? Haha. Something I find interesting is that ads by Krooked and Toy Machine seem to go against many of the standards for what makes a “good” ad. These are not ads that will win awards, yet they are adored by their target demographic. I truly think there is something to be learned from the advertisements of the skateboarding industry.