Kickers looks like it was the 70’s equivalent of Sketchers, only slightly more hip. May not be anthropologically qualified to make that statement, so I depend on UK readers to chip in here. Although that is Rod Stewart in heyday, who was much cooler than Kim Kardashian, Tori Spelling, Britney Spears and even Wayne Gretzky. It’s unclear whether the Kickers shoe brand ever had an actual skateboard team considering the lack of functionality in those high heeled shoes that look more at home on Slade or Rod Stewart than they do on anyone riding a skateboard. They did have a sticker though.

Here’s a trio of advertisements featuring Tony Hawk that range in date from 1999 to 2005. All of them are for non-skateboarding products and were taken from assorted comic books. Take what you want, but eat what you take.

Empty, anxiety, surprise, encouragement. All of these emotions can be found in these Eurosport station identity spots from 2011. You can watch just the skateboarding bit, but if you have a bit of time to kill you might enjoy some of the overly enthusiastic, awkward english voiceovers featured in the behind the scenes clip. It’s almost like watching an english language release of a Japanese cartoon, except filled with marketing talk.

– Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

It’s been 7 years since I posted the last MG auto advert from 1977. In 1978 it seemed like they couldn’t get enough of the high jump over a car concept. At least part of the photo shoot for this ad took place in the crazy mogul field at Carlsbad skatepark shown on the right.

Random web advertising with skateboards. On the left, Betabrand offers dress pants made out of sweatpants-like material, perfect for toting your longboard. On the Right, Metromile offers car insurance by the mile and rad dudes by the dozen. Neither of these skateboard riding (or at least carrying) consumers appear to be part of a larger branding campaign.

Retailers are sending out Christmas mailings already. Target has a few skateboard related images in their catalog; A giant skateboard prop for Shaun White’s clothing line, and a posed photo of a little kid who looks like he just released a tail grab. he’s getting some awesome footage of his knees. I want that giant skateboard. I do not want the chest harness. I a also not looking forward to a GoProbe, with or without harness.

If you like skateboarding, then you just might be ready for an Evinrude boat motor, later on in life, when you grow up. You know Evinrude owners are born, not made. Right? It’s not like a choice. When you get to college, it’s OK if you experiment a little. Nobody is going to judge you if you try riding a Razor scooter. If you’re worried, just keep it on the DL. 1989 advertisement for Evinrude motors, complete with Gonz skateboard after the jump.

Hobby King wants to sell you a Quanum Nova RC helicopter so you can shoot skate videos and other Extreme™! footage. They’ve got a demo video, but curiously, the skate footage appears to be mostly stable shots with little tracking.

– Thanks to Rich for the tip.

Moms Demand Action is not really upset that you can;t bring a skateboard into Krogers, they’re upset that Krogers has a pro open carry stance. This is just one of several ads featuring a gun toting shopper standing next to someone doing something that Krogers won’t allow. You can sign the petition here.

– Via John Grigley on Facebook

Targeted advertising is nothing new. Google keeps track of what you search for and shows you ads based on what it thinks you might be inclined to buy. It’s old hat, but this weekend I saw an interesting application. As I waited to click through the pre-roll ad on a Portland Timbers video, the content caught my attention. Lately I’ve been getting a few skateboard related pre-rolls. I can’t remember for what exactly, it might have been Vans, Converse SG, or possibly Levis with skateboarding, but this one was different. It was a amateur video montage of a kid skateboarding. Low and behold it’s Schaeffer McLean, the same kid form the janky indoor ramp video. I watched the whole thing (Well 99%) waiting for the product placement or a call to action but it never came. The web link associated with the video took me to Schaeffer’s Youtube user page, which is written in the third person, so one has to assume it’s run by his parents. Those video ads aren’t free, someone has to pay for them. So what is he selling? There are two possibilities, either he’s trying to drive traffic to the user channel and generate revenue through inline ad views, or he’s looking for sponsorship opportunities. It might just be the first paid “Sponsor Me” advertisement, but how many team managers are scouring YouTube for unsolicited new team members? I suppose there is a third less cynical option. Maybe the parents just want to (pay to) share their child’s love of skateboarding with the world.