Ski Swag Wars: Two Clever, Parody Bumper Stickers Face Off

A few weeks ago I made a call for swag and you guys delivered. I’ve got a stack of koozies, stickers, and other gear that I’ll be featuring, two at a time, on the blog. Hopefully, with my super-scientific analysis, we’ll spark some ideas for sweet swag to line-up for next season. If you missed the first round, check it out here.

The Criteria
I’m going to judge the swag on four areas and give a score for each to determine a winner:

• Cool – would I actually want to use it?
• Useful – is it something I could use on a regular basis?
• Branding – do I know it’s tied to a certain resort?
• Unique – how common is this sort of swag?

With a score of 1-10 on each, we’ll end up with a score out of 40. Onward.

Contestant #1 – Mountain Creek
Shred It if You Can

A parody of Mad River Glen’s famous “Ski It If You Can” bumper stickers, Mountain Creek shows their love for snowboarders with this idea.

• Cool: 8 – probably not something I’d put on my car, even though I snowboard, but still cool.
• Useful: 4 – bumper stickers are never really high on the useful scale, but this is a clever idea
• Branding: 9 – the slogan is the resort’s name, hard to forget Mountain Creek on this one
• Unique: 3 – parodies, by definition, aren’t very unique, but you still have to have the idea to parody something
• TOTAL: 24

Contestant #2 – Copper Mountain
I Pity the Fool! Bumper Sticker

Bias alert: I am a big fan on the phrase “I pity the fool.” In a high school English class, our entire class would stand on the desks and say “I pity the fool who made this test!” before each mid-term. A classy tradition I observed (usually to a less obvious degree) with every test in high school and college ever since. So, when I saw this sticker, I instantly like it.

• Cool: 8 – how can Mr T not be cool?
• Useful: 2 – maybe even lower on the useful scale, it is an orange bumper sticker after all
• Branding: 9 – if it didn’t rhyme, I’d score this lower, but the catch phrasing makes it more memorable
• Unique: 6 – it’s the only time I’ve seen “pity the fool” on a bumper stick, that’s gotta count for something
• TOTAL: 25

Winner: Copper Mountain
Once again, the edge goes to Copper Mountain. I do like the idea of using the Mad River Glen saying, but I wonder if some might not be too keen on their beloved sticker being copied. On the other hand, Mr T is made to be mimicked. I like the positive message (carpooling) and clever rhyme. This was a close one though. Being a judge isn’t as easy as it looks.

Want your resort’s swag included in the next round? Either email a picture to me at contact@slopefillers.com or, if you have some to share, mail those goodies to:

Gregg Blanchard
506 Crazy Horse Circle
Edwards, CO 81632