What would you do with a whole lot of money and nearly unlimited media outlets? It’s a tough question, I know; but bringing a multi million dollar Formula 1 race car to the beaches of the Dominican Republic and tearing around in the sand with a helicopter to film it all didn’t pop into my mind either. Neither did taking the same race car to the icy French-lands of Quebec to test out its snow-tires and cold tolerance. Both of these activities are very cool and unique, don’t get me wrong. I would donate a little toe or two and perhaps a left kidney to ride in a Formula 1 race car, be it on sand, ice, or peanut butter; but the question still remains: has the action sports industry crossed a threshold that separates mere bold marketing techniques from senseless wastes of money and resources? Simply put, is too much money and effort being put into… well nothing more than bringing outlandish fantasies of adrenalin junkies to life?
A strong argument can be made in favor of these stunts, as they do overwhelm those who see them with a brand name and the advertising benefits can potentially be huge because of the shock factor and appeal to a growing audience of action sports enthusiasts. You know that basically every activity that Red Bull has ever endorsed has been pretty cool and very fun to watch, if only because it has never been done before or is just simply over-the-top.
I just want to know what others think when they see Red Bull promoting their brand by putting Formula 1 cars on beaches and frozen lakes. Or initial reactions after watching JDR Motorsports turn a farm in an Australian jungle into a dirt track and film Malcolm Stewart and Josh Cachia doing tail-whips using multiple helicopters and CineFlex cameras. It seems that we all see this kind of promoting by Red Bull regularly, and I do end up watching the stunts over and over again, but when another company like JDR adopts the same techniques, then I wonder if every mind-boggling and ludicrous idea is going to become reality in the near future.Â
Let me know what you—the free-thinking readers of Unofficial Networks—think.
