Bike sales are down and some brands are even dead in the water, but I thought you might appreciate how Yamaha maintains their sense of humor this holiday season.
The folks who decked out Vale in Santa garb for last year's industry Christmas card went maximum kitsch for '09, photoshopping champs Ben Spies, Valentino Rossi, and James "Bubba" Stewart into cuddly Grandma sweaters against a snowy background-- heck, they even put a furry cat into Rossi's arms.
Thankfully, Yamaha slipped a disclaimer* onto the back of the card. Whew!
Related:
* Professional world champions with questionable fashion sense shown on closed set. Dress properly for your family portrait with bright colors, holiday cheer and tasteful graphics. Never drink eggnog and dress for your portrait - it is dangerous and illegal in 32 states. Yamaha and the fashion police encourage you to choose your wardrobe carefully and respect the studio environment and basic laws of style.
Card © Yamaha; Click to enlarge
Basem,
There’s a great story behind the cat & Rossi. Spies was interviewed towards the end of the WSBK season as a satire. He was asked how he adapted to tracks so quickly and told the interviewer he imagined each track as a different kind of animal…it went on from there and was funny as hell. The last scene is Rossi sitting in a chair petting a kitten with a perfectly diabolical grin on his face. Google Spies interview…it’s well worth it.
Yamaha has not lost sight of the fact the motorcycles and the whole sport is FUN. Everyone else could take a lesson.
Pete,
Yeah, I totally forgot to mention the Spies video… and I was just talking about it last night!
You can see it here.
Basem