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Rate the Ad: Burton Snowboards: Love Board

Burton's Love snowboards feature bare butts and half-dressed women--is that too much for family-friendly ski slopes?

Published: Jan 08, 2009
Welcome back Rate the Adsters! Let's start off 2009 with a look back at our last--and possibly most contentious--discussion last year: Whopper Virgins. Burger King and Crispin trekked out to all corners of the world to see which fast food sandwich, the Whopper or Big Mac, was preferred by those who'd never before sampled a burger. In the mini-doc, the burger virgins voted in favor of the Whopper, while, in Rate the Adland, Crispin got a good number of disgusted thumbs downs. Many found the campaign exploitative of the Hmong, Romanians and Inuits featured in the video and thought it irresponsible to expose heretofore untainted cultures to the health disaster that is American fast food. Though, the nays didn't completely have it. A few commenters spoke up to call the pseudo ethnography intriguing and original.

Echoing the majority of commenters, "swaaaan" said, "This ad was embarrassing to watch an as American. It is totally exploitative and mocking of other cultures. It seems to portray them as ignorant because they are unaware of the 'right' way to eat a hamburger. It's degrading."

Representing the small, but impassioned minority defending the campaign, "dporridge" said, "I saw it for the first time last night and was certainly intrigued. I did not find it offensive and thought it was a really interesting way to present their product. It also has a certain charm to it--watching wonderful people from faraway lands and cultures partake in something that we North Americans love. Of course, there is a part of me that wants to protect these un-corrupted cultures from being exposed to the evils of trans fat-laden junk food, a vice that has clearly been a negative influence on our own civilization. Assuming Burger King will not be sending plane loads of free burgers to nurture a junk food addiction to the 'burger-free' cultures (or worse, set up a shop there), I think these commercials are fun to watch and certainly make their point."

This week, we turn to a controversy brewing in the snowy slopes of Vermont over naked lady snowboards. The Boston Globe reports that Burton Snowboards' Playboy designs, the Love boards, featuring R-rated bare-bummed women, are making more than a few Vermonters uncomfortable. Especially in Burlington where Burton is headquartered, some, including the Girl Scouts, are calling the designs sexist and inappropriate for children who might share a slope with the racy boards. What do you think? Can a boarder exercise free speech on his gear, just as he may tell a dirty joke within earshot of a little one? Should the Burlington City Council step in? Or should the offended just find another slope? Let us know what you think about the steamy snowboards, below.
15 Comments: By bsquare1 January 8th, 2009 06:03:17 pm

Are we kidding here......!
Any of those Vermonters wanna come down here to South Beach and see those same tushies in da fleshie....?
I mean you go to the beach & these girls are 'boardin', havin' a good time......let's ask them............!
They'd probably say....."Hey, equal rights....where's da BEEF?"

Let's get real people....boarders are cool.....let's first get rid of ALL of those god*mn reality shows. smoke FOX News.....Regis & Kelly....gone...! Are you gettin' the point....?

By chrisstone08 January 8th, 2009 06:04:18 pm

On the mountain it's not if snowboarders are going slow enough to see the contents of a snowboard, especially if you are under 4 feet of powder, besides its better than a picture of a tank, gun or grenade...

Who caresssss

Seattle, WA
Chris Stone

By giantpictures January 8th, 2009 06:58:16 pm

This is in bad taste and it's poor judgement. This just enables insecure kids who want to shock people another avenue. It doesn't offend me at all but if a child can't see it on prime time TV or have to have a parental escort to see it in the movies why would it be ok on the slopes. To mention this as "Free Speech" should be offensive to anyone with any judgement. Get your shit together people the joke is over. Let's focus on the things that need our attention not argue about something so pointlessly "provocative".

By Dr. January 8th, 2009 09:34:18 pm

We put scantly-clad women on all sorts of objects. Possibly leading to them becoming objectified. What makes this any worse than say car advertisements, clothing ads or any other display of nudity on products? The bigger problem in my opinion is the word love. Without that it's just a naked woman. With the word love it suggests sex appeal = love. Besides, it's a free country. If someone has a problem they need to be tolerant. Many of those snobby elites who think the crude board will ruin their experience probably subscribe to a ski resort that doesn't allow boarders. If it's any consolation the binding covers right over the breast, and unless you're watching people on the half-pipe I doubt you'll see the bottom on the bottom. As for those who are trying to protect their children from seeing nudity in our world, you've got a lot of work to do. You might as well throw out the computer. Shouldn't we be more concerned with the fact that murdering is allowed on television but nudity is not? The biggest problem from a product standpoint is that they aren't very creative.

By diesel January 9th, 2009 04:38:44 am

As a snowboarder myself, I would no more go around witha pic of a naked girl on my board than have "69" incorporated into my car's numberplate! Who are you trying to impress? And I hardly think it's going to help in the pulling stakes - I would think that the fair sex would run a mile!

By jschneider.28 January 9th, 2009 09:40:19 am

Leave it to the resorts to decide what is allowed on equipment on their slopes.

By eschutzman January 9th, 2009 09:43:47 am

Inappropriate. Nuff said. They should be in a black plastic wrapper while they are on the slopes, just like a nuddy mag is on the shelf in a convenience store.

By mchlldnn January 9th, 2009 11:46:41 am

Let the resorts take issue with it or not. Skateboards have had provocative graphics for years - there will always be adolescents looking to express their sexual desperation. Let them embarrass themselves!

By charlasu January 9th, 2009 02:34:48 pm

There's only one way to make this a fair conversation: Burton produces similar boards of men, so that girls are equally empowered to make a statement. (And any homosexual boards can also equally express their preferences.)

By uscsjmc January 9th, 2009 03:35:00 pm

Ugh. It's like we've taken a giant step backward to a gritty gas station in 1962. Was that the intent?

By MissG January 11th, 2009 08:14:52 am

Only the idea of see this board in any -atleast -1º- snowy slope makes me shudder. And it is not because of the "pseudoprovocative" graphic but becasue of the coarse-tasteless-horrible-empty design. which is just a naked girl with a relevant word, there is no effort at all! , not even in the photography!. I am sure that if the design had some taste or creativivty in the execution less people will feel bothered or insulted which I feel becasue I cannot believe that existing so many talented guys with brilliant ideas there still are some people producing (and buying) so poor and pathetic concepts.

By 40beef January 12th, 2009 04:08:04 pm

Ugh, so tired of the PC. Come on, people. It's like going to a movie with Judge Smails' wife. Anyone hoping to get excited by these things will be disappointed because they don't actually show enough for that. I imagine the real satisfaction for the designer is pissing off people who would be offended by their own reflections. They really don't show anything you can't see flipping through the pages of the UTNE Reader. Beyond that, they'll be covered with bindings and snow and 15 year-olds. Who cares.

By alberu January 12th, 2009 07:26:01 pm

This boards are absolutely cool gentelmen. It perfectly captures the attitude of young freestylers nowdays. And, on the slopes the boards are on the snow and partially covered with it also by the way. If someone gets offended with this out there they should ask themselfs a few questions.

As an European this conservative attitudes appear so out of time.

Go snowboarding a little. It feels good.

By arratoonian January 15th, 2009 03:14:05 am

They're not offensive. They're just naff, nasty and the images are something you'd find inside the locker of a motor mechanic. They're are so off piste and hardly reflective of the grittiness of the kids on the slopes. Nuff said!

By giantpictures January 15th, 2009 12:15:45 pm

Alberu, I do snowboard, it does feel good and it is way cooler than bad design and out of date nudie references. Clearly you had something to do with this creation. Good luck on our next campaign.

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