Plenty has been said about the recent lawsuits that have infiltrated our little corner of capitalism. Certain segments of the community have rallied around Level 1, and declared WME an evil corporate Goliath that is attacking a smaller rival in a way that violates all sorts of unwritten ski-community codes. For those of you reading from New England, you are supremely aware that a similar story is playing out as every freeskier’s favorite sponsor, Monster Energy Drink, is suing every eastern hippie’s favorite beer company for their Vermonster brew. These lawsuits are harshing mellows all over our world, and have inspired varying levels of ire aimed at “chanting down Bab-y-lon,” or whatever Cali-P taught Tanner to say this week.
Babylon aside, the corporate giants aren’t doing anything wrong. Not in the strict sense of capitalism anyhow. And, despite John Spriggs’ fantastic dreadlocks, skiing is as capitalist as Goldman Sachs. We buy cheaper skis made in China that can be shipped here due to free trade agreements, and demand high-speed lifts that only large corporations can afford. All the hardcore backcountry cats that wander over here from TGR are smugly disagreeing from the backs of their vans, but even mountaineering didn’t emerge until capitalism specialized our jobs and freed the masses from tending a farm somewhere.
What Monster and WME did was not wrong, but it was stupid. And I mean stupid in the capitalist sense. Their lawsuits have done nothing towards making a profit, but they have alienated segments of the population that otherwise would have been good indifferent consumers. When Level 1 asked Warren Miller to lend his voice to Refresh, it is unclear who would benefit more from the arrangement. It’s unlikely that anyone in Josh Berman’s target audience had purchased a Warren Miller brand film in the decade L1P has been in existence. Therefore, the voice that is still being digitally laid on top of WME films was introduced to an entirely new audience. It’s free advertising, and on top of that it is targeted directly at the most sought after demographic—young males.
The example of Rock Art Brewery’s Vermonster beer is slightly different. I doubt the use of “monster” in the name convinced any VT hippies to try out an energy drink. In Vermonster, we’re talking about a product targeted at the exact opposite market as the product for which it stands accused of impersonating. Microbrews exist in a land of yuppies with professional degrees and ideals. Energy drinks are for the uneducated masses that never learned what large amounts of sugar can do to your insides. But suddenly, Monster’s favorite fools are aware of Rock Art and their legal battle because sites like YoBeat and Ski the East have made them aware via YouTube videos that require no reading or attention span.
Will the multinational corporations be hurt when a park rat drinks a Vermonster rather than a Monster when he wants to get extreme on some grind rails? No. But millions of dollars are spent to create brand image, and these lawsuits are actually costing money to tarnish said image. It’s just dumb (in the capitalist sense).
