Trust Your Reader

Paulo Coelho advised, "Keep it simple. Trust your reader. He or she has a lot of imagination. Don’t try to describe things. Give a hint and they will fulfill this hint with their own imagination."

An example of Coelho's advice being executed well in the marketing world?

These Harley-Davidson ads from over 20 years ago.

Somewhere on an airplane a man is trying to rip open a small bag of peanuts.

Give us life at ground level, rolling along the endless highway on a Harley-Davidson®. 100% depressurized. Just sunlight on chrome. The voice of a V-Twin ripping the open air. And elbow room, stretching all the way to the horizon. Maybe you too think this is the way life ought to be lived. Time to spread some wings. The Legend Rolls On.

No. I've decided to opt for a small and rather uneventful life.

You could eat up a lifetime pondering what to do with your days on earth. Or you could take one look at at machine like the Wide Glide®. And let gut instinct take it from there. Get a load of the high handlebar and stretched-out profile. We didn’t hold anything back in building this ride. So what’s holding you back? The Legend Rolls On.

May all your encounters with the law start with the words "Nice Harley.

Be forewarned. There’ll be no keeping a low profile on this one. Raw Sportster® muscle, with a look last seen mixing it up at the local dirt track. Orange and black racing paint job. Wide flat-track handlebar. Curvaceous 2-into-1 exhaust. The new Sportster 883R. Lucky thing there’s no law against having a little fun. The Legend Rolls On.

Upstaging scenic overlooks since 1903.

Turns out purple mountains don’t have a monopoly on majesty. Not when there’s a Harley-Davidson® in the vicinity. The eye is immediately drawn to the timeless metallic lines of the V-Twin. The perfect shape of the fuel tank. This is our styling tradition. As unchanging yet ever evolving as the landscape itself. The Legend Rolls On.

These ads aren't about horsepower or gas mileage, they're about what it means to own a Harley. 

The freedom. 

The adventure. 

The camaraderie. 

These ads are a master class in associating a brand with a desired identity and lifestyle instead of focusing on product features/benefits. 

_________________________

Agency: Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis

Photographer: Chris Wimpey

Writer: Jim Nelson 

Here's commentary from Nelson on the "Peanuts" ad: This Ad Didn't Come From Me