The Myth of Riding a Harley
It’s the ultimate act of conformity.
In 2006, Harley-Davidson released a television commercial called
Live By It that was a huge hit. Bikers everywhere swore it perfectly captured the biker ethos, and it undoubtedly resulted in more debt to countless credit accounts through Harley sales.
What Harley-Davidson accomplished with this commercial is probably the greatest example of marketing irony the world has ever seen.
The spot begins with a lone rider on an empty road, somewhere in the dry southwest. The monologue begins:
We believe in going our own way,
no matter which way the rest of the world is going.We believe in bucking the system that’s built
to smash individuals like bugs on a windshield.
Had the producers stuck with the lone rider, they would have been true to the script. But gradually, the lone rider is joined by other riders, whose voices join him in a monotone chorus:
Some of us believe in the man upstairs; all of us believe in
sticking it to the man down here.We believe in the sky and we don’t believe in the sunroof.
We believe in freedom.
We believe in dust, tumbleweeds, buffalo, mountain ranges,
and riding off into the sunset.We believe in saddlebags and we believe cowboys had it right.
We believe in refusing to knuckle under to anyone.
We believe in wearing black because it doesn’t show any dirt.
Or weakness.We believe the world is going soft, and we’re not going along with it.
We believe in motorcycle rallies that last a week.
We believe in roadside attractions, gas station hot dogs,
and finding out what’s over the next hill.We believe in rumbling engines, pistons the size of garbage cans.
Fuel tanks designed in 1936.
Freight train-sized headlights.
Chrome and custom paint.We believe in flames and skulls.
We believe life is what you make it, and we make it one hell of a ride.
exactly like you.
By this point in the spot, the original lone rider is followed by a vast pack of riders, all clones of the original. (See the irony?) The spot closes with a single voice again…
We believe the machine you sit on can tell the world
exactly where you stand.We don’t care what everyone else believes.
Amen.
The entire commercial revolves around the opening lines:
We believe in going our own way,
no matter which way the rest of the world is going.We believe in bucking the system that’s built
to smash individuals like bugs on a windshield.
The extraordinary irony of the spot is this: with few exceptions, riding a Harley-Davidson is the ultimate act of conformity. It’s about seeking shelter in herds, about belonging to a community, and (most importantly) riding together. There is absolutely nothing rebellious or individualistic about it.
This is the triumph of marketing irony achieved by Live By It: showing us a herd of people, all riding the same bikes, all wearing the same gear…and telling us the reason to do this is to go your own way. It is laughable yet deeply impressive.
As one example of the average HD rider’s “bucking the system,” HD makes millions on the sale of branded merchandise. Of all the motorcycle manufacturers in the world, not one has come anywhere close to the fanatical brand devotion of Harley riders.
Pay attention the next time you see someone on a Harley, and you’re almost certain to see them wearing HD jackets, HD pants, HD boots, HD rain gear, etc. (More nonconformity.) They almost certainly have HD decals on their 4-wheeled vehicles.
You’ll also rarely see someone on a Harley riding alone: the Harley experience is based on herding: riding in groups (the more the merrier) and going to huge rallies.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of this, and my purpose is not to bash Harleys nor the people who ride them. My goal is to draw attention to the hypocrisy inherent in the notion that riding a Harley makes one a rugged individualist who wants to stick it to the man.
No, riding a Harley is, in reality, all about conformity…and the antithesis of rebellion. It is, to put it plainly, knuckling under to everyone.
And I remain in awe of HD marketing’s ironic achievement.
