Harley-Davidson to America: Let's Ride

By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Here is a little product placement for my friends at the great American motorcycle company: Harley-Davidson.

Yesterday, Harley bought a two-page ad in the Sunday New York Times with a message that all Americans, in these difficult economic times, should read.

The ad is in the shape of the American flag. Instead of stars, the blue field contains white letters that say, "You can file our obituary where the Sun Don't Shine."

The rest of the text, in the red and white stripes, reads as follows.

"It's time like these that raise the important questions. Do you cower, or do you live free. Do you succumb to fear and doubt, or do you seize the throttle and give it a fearless twist forward. From where we sit in the saddle, we see American companies and good old American ingenuity wrenching the life back into this economy of ours. The people rolling up their sleeves and getting it done are the same ones that ride our motorcycles and you'll find them wearing blue collars, white collars, pink collars or no collar at all. We're proud to count ourselves among them. Maybe you're ready to feel the same way."

A clever ad, to be sure.

And its closing sentiment made my day: "Screw it. Let's ride."

Indeed. Let's ride.

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