Day 186 – Fly Fishing Imagery

Today, while at work, I was reading up on some of the products that Hanes has to offer.  I was reading about base layers and I found out that they target a product specifically for sportsmen (and women).  The product details were pretty cool: moisture wicking, anti-smell stuff, comfort, wool…  The product is good, I’ve used it for years and I can say that it is a quality product without sounding like I’m drinking the Kool-Aid.  The product isn’t what I want to talk about, instead it is the photograph they used to convey sportsmen (and women).  It was a fly angler standing in a stream catching a fish.

As someone who actually has done research on what types of fishing are most prevalent in the United States, I can say with some authority that fly fishing isn’t in the number one slot.  So why does it get pictured when talking about sportsmen (and women)?  Why wouldn’t there be a photo of a guy in a boat trolling for walleyes?  Or how about a tournament bass angler?  What about good old grandpa and the grandkids fishing for bluegills?  How is it that fly fishing is the ideal picture?

I think it is because that fly fishing epitomizes the essence of the sportsman or woman.  It shows the gentler nobility of the sport that has grown from kings and other royalty.  We see the romance of Norman MacLean’s novel “A River Runs Through It” and the contemplative nature of Ernst Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River”.  It shows a level of elitism, and I think that’s the imagery that marketing people love to capture.

Having an MBA, I can speak with some authority the tricks and methods that those crafty advertising folks employ.  First, they tug at the heart strings of a person.  They’re looking for an emotional “in” with the audience.  Oftentimes they employ sex or money.  Sometimes they use a sense of belonging.  They understand that you want to feel needed, that you want to feel powerful, and that your above such trivial earthly things.  Next, they show you that you’re special and therefore have distinguishing tastes.  Then comes the product placement and you’re on the hook, so to speak.  In all honesty, it’s sort of like fly fishing for people… sort of.

The dirty truth is that the majority of fly anglers are no good dirty bums.  I count myself into that category.  We’d much rather find ourselves in the company of trout, mayflies, and God’s country than anywhere else.  So what if we’re sweaty, bitten to the point of swollen by mosquitoes, and grumpy without a cup of good coffee.  We’re good honest folks who are trying to seek out our own sort of path that we can walk to in this plane.  So if somebody wants to look to me as being elitist, or romantic, or contemplative… I guess I’ve been called worse.

Tags: Ernest Hemingway, Fly Fishing, Hanes, Imagery, Marketing, MBA, Norman MacLean, Sportsmen