A question of taste and suitability ....
 

I would like to get folk's thoughts about whether the enclosed photo of HK's "Crash Cash" promotion is appropriate or not ?

In my opinion , it does go a bit too far with regards to an attempt at humor and in these days of impending regulation , we really don't need Joe Q Public taking this away as an image of how RC Model flying is conducted .

Please , Resist the urge to cannibalize one another and try to stick to the topic at Hand , does this ad go too far ?

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

I finally agree with you on something,, bad choice of pictures to create for sure

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

[8D] I do want you to know that were it Horizon or Hobbico who produced this ad campaign I'd have felt the same way . This is not so much about who does like or dislike HK , this is about what is good or bad for our hobby no matter who is producing such images . It would seem the common theme in a lot of today's advertising is to try to shock the potential customer with images they can't forget . Aggressive advertising could be an appropriate term ?

I would certainly not want this image to pop up on the evening news the next time some dumb terrorist tries using RC in their nasty plans , like the jerk in Ashland Mass. did a couple years ago ....

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

I certainly don't find it amusing, it would definetly give the general public the wrong idea about us as RC hobbyists. I am surprised the AMA has not weighed in on how inappropriate the ad is.

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Cluelessness knows no bounds.

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

I think it is inappropriate no matter who came up with it.

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Yeah,,
I commented on a video of a Horizon product being flown in a crowded park (tight squeeze and people were around) by obviously an expert pilot, In my mind not a great representation of when/where you should be flying that type of plane, it was anything but a park flyer.

The Horizon fan boys hammered me, called me stupid, old a fuddy duddy, etc., typical when you can't fight the message,, attack the messenger

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Yeah well we see that a lot, shooting the messenger, but it goes without saying that no matter how good a pilot you are flying over people is never a good idea so I definitely agree with you on that.

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

I often wonder if " Common cents " hasn't turned into " Common $$$$ " in this day and age . ENJOY !!! RED

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Yes, while the promotion itself is ok, I gotta agree with you that having a picture of an RC aircraft crashing into a commercial airliner is not going to help this hobby...

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

i-i-4-f, I agree with you. Today's lesser disciplined populace probably thought of it as much fun. However we that wish to promote our aeromodeling sport / hobby can well
understand the problematic possibilities that such poor depiction can well induce in today's public.

Good presentation on your part.

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

No question about it....distasteful and unsuitable...

The ones who came up with that pic in the ad...excrement for brains...:eek:[:@][:'(]

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Maybe not the best choice but I don't think it's that big of a deal. I mean when was the last time a rc plane crashed into an airliner?

Just a reminder. :D

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

The point of any ad is to get attention. How many more people have gone to look at this ad because of this posting? I'd say the ad has been quite successful in getting attention!

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

That really is a surprising choice of picture, it actually is BAD for their business, and the hobby's future... its hard to see how it made it into "print"

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Like I said maybe a poor choice but I just don't see it having effect on the future of the hobby. If it was on tv commercials where millions that don't know about the hobby would see it then I can see where it could have a negative effect but it's not like there's tons of non "rcer's" shopping on hobbyking.

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

I lived in orange county CA (mid 80s I think) when an rc plane was flown into the goodyear blimp (appeared intentional). Gave those of us in the hobby a real black eye. The image is very poor taste.
I'm not even so sure about the promotion - the idea of a picture worth $100 may create a situation where people stage a bad crash. Only time will tell.

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Hi Karlik ,

It is situations like you describe that made the crash cash ad worrisome enough to me to want to point it out as something that no one should condone. Yes , WE all know that the guy who hit the blimp , just like the guy who wrote that ad , don't represent the majority of the RC flyers of the world . Problems will come when or if a high profile RC accident catches some news coverage and the news reporters latch on to images such as the crash cash and plaster that all over the 6:00 news . Such an image "going Viral" can do us nothing but harm during times of the unwanted spotlight of a bad accident and I wouldn't put it past the news one bit to use such images to further sensationalize whatever unfortunate event caused the attention in the first place .

To see that the response has been pretty much 100% in agreement that the ad is in poor form , means it would be great if someone with a connection to HK might let them know that an average random sampling of RCers found the ad offensive and maybe they should come up with a different , less inflammatory image to promote their incentive program ? You'll notice I'm not yelling "BAD BAD HK !" ... I believe anyone can have the occasional good judgement lapse when it comes to creative ideas , and if their attention is called to it I would expect they would act accordingly and remove the image from the promo .

RE: A question of taste and suitability ....
 

Doesn't have to be someone with a connection to HK..

cs@HobbyKing.com

Sent them an email and a link to this thread.

Wow, I guess you don't work for them. The link you provided goes to a contractor. All of Hobby Kings customer service is contracted out to a boiler room company in Hong Kong. Most of them are not proficient in English and that is why you see the oddball canned responses that are totally out of context with the question or complaint. They simply don't understand and respond with some pre-written response that usually makes no sense and is designed to make the person asking the question get frustrated and go away.My point is that if anyone writes to that link they won't know what you are talking about nor will they care. It would be better if someone could contact Anthony Hand directly and tell him he needs to talk to whoever came up with that idea. I would like to see him post a response on this thread explaining that he shares our collective view and that his company does not condone advertisements or photos that have negative impact on the RC hobby in the eyes of the general public. Of course I won't hold my breath.

LOL.. you all know far more about HK than I do..

I never even knew the owner was Australian until the "Other" thread.

Over the weekend I was reading the 'About Us" page. here http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_aboutUs.asp

The VP of Marketing, Toby Osmond, used to work in Joondalup Hobbies in Perth in 2010, I went there many times and he was one of the most knowledgeable and helpful guys I have ever encountered in any store. I visited the shop again in early 2012 and asked for Toby and they said "he no longer works here.. "

I will try to track down an email for him and let him know about this thread. He would remember me because he'd always ask about my full size flying when I visited the store.

Everyone who dissagrees with this advertisment should voice your opinion to Hobbyking. I have just done that through their support forum.