12 Dubious Harley Marketing Tie-ins
Harley is certainly guilty of losing site of its core customer base while grabbing for those merchandising dollars. The Motorclothes division makes over $300 million in a typical year, and that doesn’t include all the 3rd party licensing deals for toys, home goods and the like. You can understand why, with dollar signs in their eyes, the guys in charge would sign off on cigarettes, beer, cologne, baby clothes…One wonders why there is not a black and chrome John Deere, or Cub Cadet lawn mower with the bar and shield on it.
1. Cologne, with a hint of motor oil
I stumbled upon this one, while looking for other tie-ins I actually knew about. Not even sure this was officially approved by Harley-Davidson, as it only appears to have been sold via mail order in a few magazines. But what could be better for bikers, and wannabe bikers, than a combination of musk oil and motor oil? Sure to drive all the ladies wild.
2. Legendary Harley Davidson 1990s Fragrance Line
This fragrance I do know about, because it was only recently discontinued. In a licensing deal with L’Oreal, after shaves, Eau De Toilets and other men’s fragrances were developed, mostly for sale in Europe. While the packaging was certainly in keeping with the brand, looking much like a chrome and leather hip flask, it did not go over well with the traditional customers. Scents with names like Hot Road certainly didn’t help.
3. Harley Davidson Teddy Bears
There are so many different Harley teddy bear and plush toys offered it is impossible to count them all. I suppose they are for the kids of people who ride bikes, but far too many of them end up riding along on touring rigs ridden by otherwise rough and ready bikers. When it comes to teddy bears, I’m the only one I want riding on my bike.
4. Barbie Harley Davidson Collector Edition
Sure, plenty of women enjoy riding Harleys, either on the back or on their own bikes, but do they really want Barbies in leather with helmets and tattoos? Perhaps. But perhaps this is secretly a brilliant campaign to rope in more female riders at an early age by showing them that even stylish women like Barbie can ride motorcycles. I don’t know any Barbie collectors, so I don’t really know the demographic, but this brings to mind Smithers from the Simpsons, who is a huge collector of Malibu Stacey. If there was a Malibu Stacey H-D edition I’m sure he would be first in line.
5. Harley Davidson Scooter Juice Wine Coolers
These seem to have appeared in the 1980s when wine coolers were huge. Perhaps the same person approved these who came up with the Harley Barbie? They were not around very long and not much is known about them. You would think with the reputation motorcycles have for being dangerous, selling branded alcohol would be the last thing a motorcycle company would want to do. Not to worry though, no one who actually rides a Harley would be caught dead drinking a wine cooler.
6. Harley Davidson Beers
Unlike the wine coolers, I assume most Harley riders would in fact drink their beers. Can you imagine any car company selling a co-branded alcohol? The Mothers Against Drunk Driving would be boycotting them so fast their toupees would spin. Harley-Davidson is different, and they have sold co-branded beer for years, especially around their Milwaukee headquarters and factory. Still, drinking beers and riding a motorcycle really should not go together.
7. Harley Davidson Wicker Picnic Basket
Heading out on your bike for a picnic is a fine idea. There is a specially made, insulated picnic bag that fits the factory saddlebags perfectly for that purpose. However, there is also a fancy wicker basket which, as far as I can tell, does not fit in the tail trunk and is not sturdy or secure enough to be bungied to the back. So this is for people who go picnicking, not on their bike, but want to still be flying their H-D colors? If you ride a pre-war bike though, this would look awesome strapped to the luggage rack.
8. Harley Davidson Cigarettes
Even Harley admitted these were a bad idea and cancelled the contract after a few years. When some of your customers die using your product anyway, and more of them are aging out of motorcycles, you don’t really want to be selling them something that could shorten their lives. Now, if smoking them could get you addicted to riding motorcycles, they may have kept selling them.
9. Harley Davidson Cafe New York
This no longer exists, and you don’t even see much about it online. The picture I have here is actually the Las Vegas location, which is still open. The New York City location was in a place with high rents, not much parking for motorcycles, and traffic and streets that are brutal even to taxi cabs. There really was nothing special about it, besides having more motorcycles hanging from the ceiling than Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood combined; it was basically just a clone of those restaurants. At least the Vegas location is in a place that attracts plenty of bikers and has plenty of parking right off the strip.
10. Dept 56 Harley Davidson Christmas Village
I suppose for people who are fans of the brand, and stuck inside for 6 months of winter, having Harley-Davidson branded decor at Christmas time is nice. Still, the cute little Harley shops and bikes in this village are just a bit too delicate for me, and I assume for most people who ride these bikes. I do like that there is a Harley race shop, complete with racers on vintage 1960s XR based road racers though.
11. Harley Davidson HO Scale Model Train
Is there really that much crossover between model railroaders and Harley riders? My father-in-law has an elaborate train set up and meticulously crafts little models for it all the time, so I guess there may be some crossover with guys who DIY and are very detail-oriented. But the Harley model train kits, which have been released periodically every year since the late 1980s, are not that. These are “collectible,” limited edition, ready-to-run setups, not the more detailed hobbyist trains. However, if you already have a Harley Christmas village, you can get the limited edition Harley Christmas train to go around it.
12. Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Edition
Now, don’t get me wrong, trucks and bikes go together like peas and carrots, but this truck is all wrong for a Harley rider. Every F-150 Harley model has been a short bed truck, with hard tonneau bed cover from the factory, which means you can’t load a bike in the back of it. If I am going to drive a Ford product and tow a trailer with my bike on the back, I’d rather have an all black Mercury Marauder, or Ford Flex. Possibly because Ford realized you can’t put a bike in the back of their bike-branded ½ ton truck, they also made ¾ and 1 ton versions with much larger beds which can hold your bike. With the new full-sized Transit van now available, perhaps they will come out with a specially equipped Harley-Davidson Transit, with full luxury interior, and tie downs and chocks integrated in it from the factory?
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