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Visual Communication
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A lesson to be learned or `Take a walk on the wild side'

Karin Wagner

IT University of Göteborg, Sweden, kawa{at}chalmers.se

This article analyses an advertisement postcard issued by a mountain bike company to promote a safe riding style. Instead of conveying a straightforward didactic message about safety, the card is shown to be quite ambiguous. The discourse concerning extreme sports and mountain biking in particular is explored through internet sources such as discussion forums. This discourse revolves around the capacity to face danger and endure pain, which is an important factor in the progression from boyhood to manhood. The theoretical background of the article is gender theory and masculinity studies and the roots of the structure of the postcard are traced back to 19th-century children's literature. In conclusion, some suggestions are made about how the message of the postcard could have been made less ambiguous.

Key Words: advertisement postcards • comic strips • danger • extreme sports • masculinity • mountain bike • safety regulations • sports marketing

Visual Communication, Vol. 7, No. 4, 477-502 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1470357208096211
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