|
A useful tool or an imposition?
The Forest Service has given US ski resorts the OK to sell some
advertising space on their chairlifts, drawing complaints that the
messages will clutter the great outdoors. The ads will be only a
few inches in size and will consist of logos of companies that sponsor
programs at resorts; they will not contain slogans or special offers.
"Coors could have its logo, but no twins," Forest Service spokeswoman
Sue Froeschle said this week, referring to the beer company's advertisements
with buxom women.
Environmentally friendly pistemaps
The ads will be limited to 15 percent of the safety-bar area. They
will be placed with trail maps displayed on a cylinder around the
safety bars. The resorts will receive the revenue for the ad sales.
Some ski-industry officials believe the logos
are inoffensive because they are so small, but others say they have
no place on publicly owned lands.
The advertising was tested in an experimental program last year
at Aspen's four resorts. At the time, ads were allowed to include
promotions and ranged from Altoids mints to massage offers at the
Snowmass Club.
By displaying trail maps on the chairlifts, the Aspen resorts reduced
the number of printed maps by 30 percent, which in turn cut litter
on the slopes. Advertising revenue also helped cover the cost of
environmental messages included on the safety bar cylinder. The
aim was for the ads to strike "a balance between serving the customer's
practical needs and meeting their expectations in a mountain environment."
Not popular everywhere
Vail, a popular ski destination, has rejected the idea. "There needs
to be a real sensitivity to overcommercialization of our slopes,"
spokeswoman Kelly Ladyga said. "If the line is crossed, then it
will detract from the overall experience and we believe advertising
on chairlifts crosses that line for our guests."
Two other resorts have
tried and discarded cylinder trail maps on chairlift safety bars.
Winter Park west of Denver discontinued their use to save money.
A spokeswoman also said the maps, which cost about $20,000, were
frequently vandalized. Sugarbush in Vermont installed maps that
included information about the environment but took them off under
the orders of the state's tramway passenger division. Director Robert
McLeod said the 4-inch-diameter maps were interfering with snowboarders'
use of safety bars.
"We are used to being ambushed by marketing messages. Our brains
are observing 3,000 marketing messages a day and we certainly don't
need 3,001 - especially in that kind of a park setting."
[Source: Fosters online
& The Seattle Times]
Mail
this page to a friend
What do you think? Tell us in the Chat
Room
|
