There’s the old biblical idea of the lamb and the lion. Animals that couldn’t be more opposite somehow getting along beautifully. Snowboarders and skiers are playing well together after a rocky start but there are even issues there still. So, when Patrick Sande passed this article along, I did a mental double take.

Pearl District swimwear store named ‘Official Swimwear of Mt. Hood Meadows’
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/04/pearl_district_swimwear_store.html

So, the big headline. Popina has become the “Official Swimwear of Mt Hood Meadows”. Yes, swimwear and skiing. Unlike water and snow, we all know these two things aren’t mutually exclusive. Part of the sponsorship, according to Oregon Live, is that:

“Popina Swimwear, which has one location in the Pearl District, has partnered with the ski resort for an April promotion that encourages patrons to wear next to nothing when taking to the slopes. “

When I was young and stupid…okay, younger and less stupid…I thought it would be soooo cool to ride in just shorts and a t-shirt during a summer hike-shred of Alta, Utah. It took one fall on a sadly small jump to realize that’s one of the dumbest things I could do.

Those little, icy “flakes” are like razors and turn good-lookin’ knees into bloody beasts. So, when I see a promotion that encourages folks to wear as little as possible and when I compare knee skin to other skin that may not see the light of day as often, I think this is a recipe for disaster.

Two Sides
But, like all things, there are two sides to this story. The wearer of said scanty attire may have a rotten time after the first wipeout, but I’d bet half the people on your chairlifts are going to have no problem with such a display (the crash or before).

So, if people are willing to dress like that whilst skiing, which pretty much any spring skiing day can confirm, this event has the makings for a success. The resort gets every college age male in the state to come out, and Popina gets some nice brand association going into spring.

Grand Prize
Along with the contest comes a grand prize:

“One grand prize winner will receive two VIP passes to the sixth annual Kona Pond Skim on Saturday, April 28 at the resort, when Popina will also be hosting a fashion show. “

Like I said, I’d expect this one sentence alone to lower the average age on the mountain down to around 20.3.

I Dig
I’ve gotta say, I like this promotion. My first thought was confusion that a company that lives and breathes by frozen water would partner with a brand that makes their living from un-frozen water (also known as just water, or in some parts of Utah as “de-thawed” water…seriously). But, I think the timing is good, the collaboration is clever, and if nothing else, they’ll get plenty of press for their spring event lineup.

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.