May 7th, 2008
Harley-Davidson thinks America is in a dark mood over the economy, so it decided to lighten things up.

The motorcycle giant's new slogan, devised by Minneapolis ad firm Carmichael Lynch, is: "So screw it, let's ride."

The new catch phrase is admittedly a long way from Harley-Davidson's past slogans, which echoed sentiments of the American Dream such as, "It's not the destination, it's the journey."

But Harley-Davidson wanted to send an upbeat message when the economic news was grim. "Harley riders have always had an optimistic view of the future," spokesman Paul James said. "We're thumbing our noses at the hand-wringing in the public dialogue."

Carmichael Lynch declined to comment on the ad, saying it had to defer to Harley-Davidson.

The new ad, titled "We don't do fear," is being run in publications including USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Military Times and NASCAR Scene.

If the ad is edgy, it may be because Harley-Davidson is suffering the same economic uncertainty as some consumers. Its U.S. sales were down nearly 13 percent in its most recent quarter as hard-pressed consumers shied away from big-ticket purchases such as motorcycles.

But even for a classic motorcycle company reaching out with a message of -- well, hope, maybe -- there's only one right way to debut a new slogan:

www.harley-davidson.com/screwit. Click it.

STEVE ALEXANDER