Disgusted with Boker ads

Razoredj

Razoredj

Joined
Feb 22, 1999
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The latest issue of Tactical Knives features a Boker advertisement for the 90R Gemini "Rescue" Knife. It's only the latest in a string of irresponsible, provocative ads. I'm not one to bow to the forces of Political Correctness, but these ads sound like they were written by sheeple, not a respected knife company.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">PERFECT FOR AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. OR CREATING ONE.

90R Gemini Rescue Knife
With its red handle and 3 3/8" Solingen stainless steel blade, is it any wonder the authorities are probably already on their way?
</font>
Click to expand...

Previous Boker ads that caught my eye stated, explicitly, that possession of such-and-such a Boker was just as good as being a blackbelt in multiple martial arts. I guess I'm more annoyed at this latest one because it essentially says (despite the "rescue" tag), "Hey, carry our knife. It will make you a criminal. Don't you feel tough?"

Am I overreacting?

There's an ad I've seen for the Buck Strider recently that's almost as bad. To paraphrase, it says something like, "You and Bob are stranded in the woods. You could use the Strider to build a shelter. Or you could use it to make Bob build the shelter."

Opinions?

-Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.

[This message has been edited by Razoredj (edited 04-10-2001).]
 
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree. I have been displeased with the line of Boker ads going back 1-2 years. I am not a marketing/advertising whiz, but I'm puzzled as to who they are trying to reach. Boker is probably one of the least popular brands as far as the "tactical" market goes, yet they are putting out the most tactical directed ads. Are they trying to be "macho", or appeal to the "mall ninja" mentality??

I am also disappointed with the Buck ad. For years, the Buck family business has had unimpeachable integrity. For decades, the Buck 110 was the only game in town, was a de riguer weapon for bikers and all manner of societal unsavories, yet Buck was never implicated as a purveyor of death. Now they are walking a fine line of liability. Remember, one of the major arguments against assault weapons, certain self-defense ammo, and certain pistols centers around how they are marketed, not their functioality, per se.

Note to knife makers: Just tell me what it's made of, how it operates, what the dimensions are, and how much it costs - I'll figure out what I can use it for.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against bikers, Buck 110's, or any combination thereof. My Dad wore his 110 proudly when he rode, and gave me my own 110 when I was 15.
 
I find such ads funny. I take them as the joke they are intended to be.

Another good one is the Boker ad about the fisherman's knife. "It's 8 3/4" honest", referring to a fisherman's tendency to overstate the length of the fish he catches.

Chris
 
The ads are stupid and give ammunition to those who oppose the freedom to own and use knives, not to mention the prosecution of anyone who finds himself or herself being charged with an offence that happens to involve a Boker.
 
These ads wouldn't be a problem, and would just be mildly amusing, if the world was a sane place. In our current political climate, though, they're irresponsible at best. It marks them as a company that is looking to make a quick buck, no matter what happens next year.

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Razor, some of the ads sound cheesy when you really think about it. I remember Boker's ad for the G10 Superliner, back when they called it the Omega I. TaeKwonDo and JuJitsi all in your back pocket. I can see where this would be prime fodder for certain legislators out to ban knives as weapons. While it may be humorous to some, I do agree that some may object to it. I myself don't mind the ads and find many of them funny or dumb, however, I did see the ad you're referring to.
 
I'm glad somebody noticed that Boker ads are tacky and appeal to wanna tough guys. If Boker simply made better knives, they could tone down their ads. Afterall, Spyderco and benchmade don't make ads like this and they dominate the tactical market.
 
Anthony, you do have a point. It seems like a marketing plot to push a product that ends up looking dumb. Some companies use tactics such as Boker, others like Cold Steel, use a bold and aggressive approach by saying their knives will outperform the competition. So far, I have only seen Boker put out ads in this fashion.
 
The Buck add you reference made me laugh out loud!!! I don't get to see this stuff over here!

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Razoredj:
The latest issue of Tactical Knives
"You and Bob are stranded in the woods. You could use the Strider to build a shelter. Or you could use it to make Bob build the shelter."

Opinions?

-Razor
</font>
Click to expand...

From the add:

1. You and Bob are hiking when you notice an approaching storm.
----

A. You build a lean-to out of pine branches.

B. You make Bob build the lean to.

I read and re-read it a couple times. I keep thinking they meant something OTHER than forcing Bob at knife-point to make the lean-to.

Mike

 
I can't imagine what else they might have meant. "A Buck knife gives you choices."

It says clearly "You make Bob build the lean-to." Not ask, convince, loan him the knife to. You make him build it. I don't like the implication.

I won't jump down their throats on this. Buck is a remarkable company of proven integrity, and they've stood up for our knife rights. I just think they blew it on this one.

Boker is different. Boker was always a good company but they've gotten into marketing now, and put out some of the trashiest commemoratives outside a Franklin Mint catalog.

Ya know what? We aren't the only ones buying knives. There are people out there who do spend money on knives who never heard of Benchmade, CRKT, Emerson, or Reeve. Let alone Scagel, Moran, or Darrell Ralph! (I know, that's incredible.)

Tom Mayo? Isn't he the guy with the regularly spaced holes in the gas tank of his bike?

If knives go down the route guns have, it won't be because of a few misguided ads, though. It will be because the general population has totally lost confidence in individual self-reliance.
 
I was thinking...

...After they ban knives what am I going to use to cut my steak?

...And, then it hit me, they are going to ban the steaks too.
frown.gif


If the knife companies continue, to take up this kind of advertising, I am going to start siding with the anti-knife crowd. The only thing that is going on here is that a low end junk knife producer has decided to target teenage would-be-ninjas in order to make a fast buck. That is pretty irresponsible.

Either, the industry does a little self policing, or somebody else will step in and do it for us. I believe kids should have access to knives as early as possible; but, these images are unneccessary. What's next: should I expect Ford to start running a "Death Race 2000" ad in which their newest pickup is used to run over pedestrians?

The ads are perhaps funny, but certainly dumb.
 
I posted this just over a year ago in this thread:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine went to an advertising awards ceremony. Ads for a major knife company were nominated for some awards. The ads for this company are "in your face" weapons promotions. These ads clearly state that knives are weapons and present violent images of what the knife can do.

At the awards ceremony, nominated ads were displayed on a large screen for the audience to view. Of course, this audience was not made up of knife people, they mainly worked in advertising or print media.

Knife people are used to these ads and don't bat an eye when they see them. However, non-knife people are grossed out by these ads. This is what James Mattis called the "Ewwww-yuck! Factor" in an earlier post. Actually, the term "grossed out" doesn't really do justice to what these people feel when they see these ads.

According to my friend, the audience was absolutely horrified by the knife ads they saw. The audience didn't just think that the ads were in bad taste. They thought that the ads were hideous, repugnant, abhorrent.

I was very familiar with this company's ads (they run in all major knife magazines) and personally never thought they were a big deal. There are actually a lot of companies that run far worse ads.

But for the non-knife people that saw these ads at the awards show, their opinion of knives has undoubtably dropped into the cellar and will probably stay there forever. These ads may appeal to a small percentage of knife buyers, but they completely alienate the vast majority of the general public and actually provide them with an impetus to create stricter anti-knife laws.</font>
Click to expand...

Now you get to guess what company I was talking about.
wink.gif


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Cerulean

"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off." - J.K.M.

[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 04-10-2001).]
 
I don't mind certain knives being marketed as weapons. I do mind when knives that would clearly make a very poor choice as a weapon, are marketed as weapons. I do mind when an ad advocates using a knife as a weapon to go out and harm people, not as a weapon to go out and protect people.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
See, that's what bothers me, too. I despise political correctness and absolutely don't have a problem with weapons being advertised as such -- but as weapons of self defense. I remember a particularly tasteful ad for Taurus revolvers, for instance, which portrayed one of their guns as a gentleman's accessory for protecting hearth and home (and surrounded by other genteel accessories, like reading glasses and fancy pens). There was no doubt this weapon was just that -- but the ad was responsible and very positive.

The phrase that bothered me was "Or creating one." Creating an emergency situation? You could do some mental acrobatics and construe this as sending a mugger to the hospital, but the impression that hits you first and hardest is that you've just done something wrong.

I don't fault Boker, either. I fault their marketing department or firm.

-Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.
 
Ive griped about this for years. It seems the whole knife industry is going for that tetesterone macho bull****. For example the Emerson cqc7 aka close quarters combat knife geez give me a break. the closest I come to combat with that knife is slicing open my package of ham at lunch. Or in Blade magazine the Sneering dude with a snappy italian suit pulling open the lapel to reveal the Off brand knife in a sholder holster. AND>>>> CRKT before thier recent troubles were hawking thier m16 series as "social security" give me a break people. We need to decide here and now are knives weapons or are they tools?? You decide.
 
I personally (catch this post as meaning a personal and NON-SOG position) feel that knife manufacturers and their ads need to reflect responsibility in advertising.

Yes, knife ads certainly need to be fun, eye-catching, informative, and/or witty. But responsibility is also important. We unfortunately need to think how those in a wider market will perceive us. By way of example, there are people who unfairly equate knives with guns. Can we insert a "gun" in place of the knife in a knife ad and still sound responsible? The alcohol industry, as others, deal with the responsibility issue as well (look to all the fine print and disclaimers).

My post is not directed at any single ad…only the flavor of some ads in general I've seen and the responsibility of manufactures to lead and do the most they can to positively and constructively mold public perception of their products (and the industry they represent).

Has SOG been guilty of this? I really don't know and we possibly have been (in one degree or another we possibly all have). I don't write or approve our ads (though I get to at times play with ideas and be part of the creative process), but I've been prompted by this thread to certainly take a look at some of our past ones with a more cautious eye. I think this is a very timely and important issue for our industry.

Knife ads can be outstanding. There is so much that can be said. By one company saying it poorly and without tact, it has the potential of hurting the whole industry.

Ron
 
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Well, I'm gonna go out on a limb here... While I think the Boker ad is stupid, but that Buck line about making the guy build a shelter is hysterical!

Ok, maybe it's in poor taste and can be used against us by the liberals, but I still think it's funny. I also think that in a way, it's smart.
Why, you may ask?
I'll tell ya!
Humor is an excellent selling tool. Something that makes you laugh tends to stick out in your mind much more than just the bare facts.
Buck's approach was particularly effective because you sure as hell didn't EXPECT them to say that! That's my favoritest form of humor. All the usual lines have been used before....
"When your life's on the line, you can reach into your pocket and pull out your trusty (namebrand here) and you'll save the day!"
"You're in a taxi! The cab driver is having a baby! The baby is out! The cord MUST be severed! What do you do? With the Millineum One Million, you can cut the cord and save the cab's interior!"
Ok, maybe those lines haven't been used too much... (Ron, feel free tho, Bro!) but I think you get the drift.
Buck was trying a new approach that I am SURE was not intended to be taken seriously. They placed the ad in a medium that is not likely to be read by the liberal masses, other than the various do-gooding watchdog groups, who are gonna find alot more to whine about in Tac Knives than that particular ad.

To those who don't like the ad, I really DO see your point (HAH! I make a pun!) and I could be wrong. I just wanted to hit you up with another view on the subject, one that must be taken with a pillar of salt, I suppose.

So many times advertisements talk down to you, promising you the world, and delivering you Calcutta (??) but this is a breath of fresh air. If I were in advertising, that's something I would've been proud to come up with.

Then again, it's a well know fact among our little comminity that I ain't always right (in the head) so if ya disagree with me, just nod politely and pretend I'm a fish in a tree.

Off to promote drunk driving in school zones,
I remain,
VG
Restrained

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[This message has been edited by Vampire Gerbil (edited 04-10-2001).]
 
I really hate to say this in a knife forum, guys, but the pen really IS mightier than the sword. How many of you who are pissed off have taken the time to write to the folks at Boker and let 'em know about it? When I'm pissed at a company or organization or elected official, I write them a letter and say so. At the same time, I'll often jot off a note telling a company or organization or elected official that I admire what they're doing and appreciate it. Speak up!
 
When a kid can't carry a pocketknife to school...things are out of hand.

Sure I chuckled with VG, but when knives are marketed as weapons instead of tools...I stop chuckling.

I do not blame the knife makers...only the marketing.

Steve-O
 
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