In recent years, the digital review economy has legitimized itself in the consumer world and now acts as a pivotal influence in how companies evaluate and conduct themselves in the public eye. Everyone and their dog is given a voice on the internet, and a negative review could be greatly detrimental to a company, particularly in its early stages. Fortunately for the Wasatch’s local Snowbird Ski Resort, this hasn’t been the case as they’ve brilliantly converted a negative review into positive press just in time for the upcoming ski season.
Snowbird’s first ad in its new One-Star campaign features an ironically hypercritical review by Greg from L.A., who complained that the resort is “Too advanced — I’ve heard Snowbird is a tough mountain, but this is ridiculous. It felt like every trail was a steep chute or littered with tree wells. How is anyone supposed to ride in that? Not fun!” Rather than taking this scathing review in humility or shame, Snowbird’s advertising team imposed Greg from L.A.’s quote onto a high-definition photograph of a skier carving through thick powder on a steep run, a sublime snow-covered Cottonwood ridge looming in the background.
What Greg from L.A. may not have recognized while composing his critique is that Snowbird prides itself on providing a uniquely advanced, challenging experience on the mountain; many visitors, in fact, find steep chutes and tree wells to be particularly appealing. Juxtaposed against an alluring photograph taken at the resort, this negative review is contorted into praise, and it even serves to challenge prospective visitors to take on the mountain that was too advanced for Greg from L.A.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Dave Amirault, Snowbird’s director of marketing, attributes this bold approach to the contentious and polarizing tone that the public currently resonates with most, reflecting, “What we’ve realized is in print advertising, advertising in general, nobody wins the middle. What we wanted to do is be unique to ourselves and make something that will challenge the reader.” For Amirault, Snowbird’s technicality is foundational to its identity: “If you value great terrain, deep snow, and long runs then Snowbird might be for you.” In direct response to the notorious reviewer, Amirault states that “This person, Greg from Los Angeles, didn’t quite understand what Snowbird is all about. We welcome people from all around the world but be on your ‘A’ game. This is a very unique resort compared to some other places.”This wildly compelling ad serves as the first iteration of the One-Star campaign that promises at least four more treatments of similarly scathing reviews in the near future. This ad and the others to come are projected to appear in Freeskier, Powder, Ski, Transworld Snowboarding, and Ski Utah magazine, in addition to Snowbird’s social media channels.