I’ve mentioned before that I sometimes wonder if some ski resort print ads are using pictures that were even taken at the mountain they are advertising. This theory got a boost this week from Mike Hardaker, the editor and publisher of Mtn Weekly, a Colorado Online Newspaper.

He was browsing the website for “The Snow Ball“, an upcoming music festival in Vail, CO. If you browse there today, the main image of a trail map is static. Yesterday, it was rotating (looks like someone finally caught on) through a handful of images that weren’t taken at or near Vail.

Stock photography is cheap and easy, but I guess we can’t expect it to go unnoticed. Here was Mike’s analysis:

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Example #1 Lets start with the photo of the snowcat next to some great powder skiing tracks. Well look closely, the snowcat is from Powder Mountain. Hopefully the photographer Gav Collins know his stuff is being used without credit. Unless Vail is subcontracting to have these cats work many miles from there home base in BC, and were not talking about Beaver Creek..

Example #2 Then we go to a club photo that looks to be from the famous Ibiza where they have foam parties, maybe this is coming to Vail? Who knows but getting wet before heading out at 2am to the streets of Vail doesn’t sound to cool with this concert goer.

Example #3 Glenwood Springs makes the montage and being 1 hour from Vail I guess has its place. But aren’t there other pools and spas in the community that could be showcased?

Example #4 The Flaming Lips in Vail?? Maybe this was a teaser photo that was released, either way the Flaming Lips put on one of the best live shows around. So if the photo of the band is a hint to whats to come, well done Vail!

Example #5 There is a great photo of a deck at the base of a peak that surely is not anywhere in Eagle County, or possibly Colorado for that matter. How can you use photos of terrain from another ski resort?

Example #6 Another photo of a powder skier looks more like the heliskiing in Haines Alaska then Vail, who knows there are some secret spots left on the mountain, I could be wrong.

Example #7 Shows a terrain park photo of a skier or boarder laying next to a hip jump that looks fun, but again is not anywhere near the Snow Ball.

Example # 8 And last but not least there is a photo of a chairlift with the last word “Day” what lift is this? It’s not in Vail. (SlopeFillers Note: According to a TGR forum discussion, someone ID’ed this lift as Park City’s PayDay)

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.