Snowboards Illustrated – 2010 Swimsuit Edition

If there’s one thing that 50% of the population will remember about this year’s Olympic snowboarding, it will be Shaun White’s gold medal winning halfpipe run. For the other 50% the defining moment was when Hannah Teter and Clair ‘her surname sounds like a ceramic bum washing device’ Bidez, featured in the 2010 Sports Illustrated swimwear edition.

As a result the defining moments of the Oympics according to a large number of snowboard blogs and forums have been; Hannah Teter’s bum, Clair Bidez’s weird belly button, the impressive amount of Photoshoping involved and definitive proof that it is not possible to look sexy in rubber boots...

In the past, through vigorous, err…scientific analysis, we’ve proved that it not possible to be erotic in a frozen environment, so why does anyone do it?

Erotic + Frozen = Impossible

Well, the answer is to sell something. In the case of the two snowboarders they want to get more sponsorship. Teter is a seasoned pro and already has some pretty big sponsorship deals including her own Ben & Gerry’s ice cream flavour, but even she is still a long way behind the Shaun White’s of this world. So Teter and Bidez are hoping to increase the amount of money they can earn through their Sports Illustrated coverage. And they’re not alone in using the swimsuit modelling approach to marketing so this week we take a look using inappropriate snowboarding clothing to sell things...Erotic Snowboarding – Swimsuit Modelling

Sports Illustrated regularly uses it to sell an otherwise disappointing sports magazine.

Hooters

Not wanting to be left out Hooters produce something very similar with their calendar which they use to sell their ropey burgers. This year they included a girl who bravely has a go at snowboarding while modelling swimwear and she even rides a tabletop at one point. You wouldn't catch me doing that in my Speedos.

Stock Photography

There are a whole load of sites out there that sell stock photos for design use. They always provide slightly odd snowboard themed photos and they have got involved in the art of snowboarders in swimming costumes. I’m guessing there is a market for these photos out there, but I can’t figure out quite where...

Here are a couple of photographers promoting their talents by artistically photographing girls, in bikinis, in the snow. They are both girls themselves, which is notable as this is unsurprisingly a very male-dominated pursuit.

Noelle Goveia

Sarah Lee

Sarah features some very lost looking snowboarders in Hawaii, which as we know is actually possible.

This photo has no context because I lost the source, however it needs to be added just because...

Then you get a whole bunch of marketing genii at the resorts who will go to the swimsuit model fall back marketing plan at the drop of a hat. Not a bad plan. Here are a few of the examples…

Mountain High

Indian Head - all of a sudden the resort name has a little bit more meaning than I’m comfortable with

Bear Mountain

Bare Mountain

Brighton have their regular Bikini Bash & Ski-A-Thong to celebrate the end of the season.

The desperate snowboarder in the background takes a run-in.

Yeah gods, I didn't sign-up for this.

The photo in the introduction of this blog was from this event…

There are strangely a couple of companies that have got involved even though there wouldn’t seen to be much benefit for them...

Exotica Swimwear - are in the presumably very unprofitable business of selling bikini’s in Minnesota. I can’t imagine many women look at this and think it’s a good idea.

“Where Women Go For Comfort..” in Minnesota

Sun Diego - a store that sells surfboards and skateboards, but importantly no snowboards, regularly put on a snowboarding rail jam called Beanie’s and Bikinis.

This was the one model who chose to wear snowboard boots. She didn't win.

And the snowboard industry likes to get involved as we’ve seen with the Burton Love controversy from last season. Not content with just having pictures of the girls on their equipment are also quite happy to have pictures of the girls in their equipment.

Cappel - Knocked out their 08/09 website with a few scantily clad ladies.

Cappel clothing is now just a part of the Ride website this season so that might be a sign that it didn’t work all that well.

And the coup de grace is from…

Reef - who introduced the Reef Catedral Boardercross from Bariloche, Argentina. Here Reef gave up on any pretence of respectability and just had some girls get mostly naked and jiggle…