Not on TV here
(Audio probably NSFW)
I am fascinated by the variety of efforts different countries take to encourage cycling. Some countries have national advertising campaigns to promote bicycling; Paris has its celebrated rental bikes; Bogota closes over a hundred miles of its streets every Sunday, and many other South American cities are doing so now as well. Here in the U.S. we are all about trying to carve out a safe place in the streets for bikes. Our efforts center on engineering, but not so much on advertising.
But what is really interesting is the strange attachment between bikes and love that seems to transcend cultures and that generally finds its way into the advertisements. Mexico City has an advertising campaign associating bikes with the heart, and the double-meaning of bicycling being good for your physical and your mental (or romantic) health is made quite apparent. Current bike-culture memes in the U.S. are also saturated with the “bike love” narrative. (One example I like: there is a beautiful stencil outside BICAS that says “Every bike a love affair, every car a murder.”)
It seems that Hungary has taken this theme to its logical conclusion.
–Erik Ryberg
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Sex sells, right?
I think people forget how fun riding a bike truly is and that when you ride your bike you gain a true sense of freedom that people are seeking when they get in their cars.
I’m keep thinking back to this New Belgium commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h84Fue5S9wM Iy just makes riding a bike look like fun.
Infrastructure, for the most part, is only really good for the people already riding a bike. Getting people in the saddle is the hard part.