In the late 1960s, BSA’s UK advertising struggled to connect, but a radical new approach on America’s west coast told a very different story. Photographer-turned-creative director Rick McBride reshaped BSA’s image with bold slogans, daring imagery and a visual style that would influence motorcycle advertising worldwide.
Swinging the Sixties may have been, but those involved with BSA advertising missed the memo. The presumption of sales that – along with other issues – would ultimately help wipe one of motorcycling’s largest manufacturers off the planet led to dull campaigns and staid photography in adverts. When there was still time to succeed, when they needed to really push, there was nothing but lethargy.
This wasn’t the case on the west coast of America. Rick McBride, a photographer turned creative agency boss who hailed from Beverley Hills, Los Angeles, already had Ferrari, Ford and Jaguar as clients, and he knew what he could do to help. So, BSA West Coast acquired the services of McBride to manage the whole advertising strategy for 1967 and beyond.
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A bold character, McBride started by upping the heart rate of the slogans like ‘Get astride the exciting life – BSA’ and ‘Move into the BOLD world of BSA’ to attract a younger audience. But he also knew what worked visually and wasn’t afraid to break a few eggs. Adverts from 1967 onwards featured beautiful models standing around BSA motorcycles smiling at each other, enjoying the moment, and crucially, the women were wearing rather little – helped by the daring, liberating fashion of the time, and not in a staged, studio way, but in a ‘real’ scenario. Several shoots were arranged, one down the road from McBride’s house on Malibu beach and the nearby airport, one at a studio, and then to London, where the locations included Westminster bridge steps, Embankment, Whitehall and St James Palace. Finally, it was back to California for more locations, including the one you see here.
Are you looking at the bike? Do you want to be the rider? What’s the bloke behind thinking? Who knows… but you’re looking – and that’s what BSA wanted. McBride woke up BSA, and the rivals quickly followed – especially Norton with the Commando a couple of years later. But even the Eastern European companies saw how well this new style worked.
Ultimately, the daring – albeit of the time – ads couldn’t save a lack of investment and poor management. But it did help by livening up motorcycling and making many smile. Rick McBride became a bit of a superstar in his own right, counting many racing drivers and film stars as friends. He died, after retiring in Kent, in 2013.
This article originally appeared in Classic Bike Guide. To subscribe, please visit https://www.classicmagazines.co.uk/classic-bike-guide
