Marketing Madness: NVDL sponsors NVDL

This morning I thought I made A BIG mistake getting up at 4:30am to go cycling. A monster in my head shouted, threatened, jumped furiously up and down:

"You are NOT going to get on your bicycle; you're mad - you're FAR too tired."

"I cannot BELIEVE you are even THINKING of doing this! Why? Freaking WHY!"

"Look, it's just not a good idea. You are going to have an IMPOSSIBLE day if you do this. Just go back to bed..."

10 minutes later I was feeling great. I shouldn't have felt good at all since my bike and my butt haven't seen each other for over a week. I've really singlehandedly evolved a new training approach, it's called: Two weeks on, two weeks off, and get fitter! I felt decent on Wednesday's route - the first killer climb was a bit less hard, which probably made the rest more manageable. Still, encouraging. If I go to the Argus - ja, I'm still a bit iffy, this is where I'll stay - it's the spiffy Protea Hotel Colosseum.

Not bad huh.

Ja so I've been lucky enbough to secure a sponsor. There's this edgy website called NVDL - got lots of unconventional views on everything from politics (I know, whatever), but it's also got quite a conscientious take on a lot of other stuff: the environment, community stuff and sport - lekker. Some of it is pretty controversial.

Most of it is fresher and more personal (without being in bad taste) than other stuff on the web. So I now have a NVDL branded helmet and bike frame. The cycling clothes are on the way. Now all I need is the T-shirt!

If you would like to be sponsored by NVDL, leave a comment here. You also get R5000 cash to spend, a new Cervelo frame and a signed handshake.



Stats:

Time 1:39:55
Distance: 45km
Speed: 27.1km/h (ave) 83.4 km/h (max)
Altitude avg: 1529 m
Tempo: 16C (ave)
Ascent: 475m

BRRRR! (Photography)

(de)ploys (MARKETING)

First of all, it's a branding coup that the Springbok logo has done so well. It's a self-reinforcing feedblack loop thing...the Bok logo becomes the stuff of legend, the players aspire to the legend, they become legends, further reinforcing it. Now even Bafana Bafana are copying the green and gold thing, and Mbeki, having experienced Bok Power firstahd, is telling the soccer lads to chuck Bafana and get a Bok-style makeover.

Then, simply because I feel it is my duty (and I'd like to encourage the collective, communities all over) to celebrate nature, I love Pam Golding's new print campaign. One image shows a massive whale and a diver in a pristine, crystal clear ocean lit with desaturated carbon color. The charcoal appearance understates the simple but important message: Discover the place that makes you happiest. I like the implication behind that; that nature is where a person can find themselves, and some of their highest happinesses.
"A new home is an important contributor to the overall feeling of happiness."*

Sonja Bulkin in the Saturday Star punted the TOTAL ad. It's an excellent concept promoting the economy of the fuel, using The Three Degrees song: "When will I see you again?" Caltex is onto the same thing, but they render it less well. BP has their split screen version; also not quite bad.

Lowlight: Terrible ads include the perfume spray that a cartoon elephant punts, then suggests that even smelly shoes aren't a problem if you're a mother to centipede. But you're an elephant!

Highlight: At Vida e cafe I noticed on the earpiece - is that the correct term - of the white cup, a small card dangling. It was branded with Halo 3 advertising. A great ploy. Nowhere is offlimits, and the fresher the advertising turf, the more effective the message comes across.