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Zipcar ad jabs bicycling, spurs response – Updated

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward


[Scroll down to see how readers have re-made the ad.]

Zipcar, the nation’s largest and most well-known car-sharing service (that just had an IPO), has long positioned themselves as a bike-friendly company; but a new advertisement has some people scratching their heads.

Check out the big banner graphic that’s running on Zipcar.com…

Come on Zipcar; why make bikes look bad just to make a buck? I thought we were friends. And why use a car when a simple set of panniers or a front rack would do the trick?

Bike touring expert, photographer, and former Portlander Russ Roca, who knows a thing or two about low-car living, instantly went to work on his own versions of the ad:

Want to create one too? Our friend Tomas Quinones made a version of the image with a blank background for your convenience

Feel free to Photoshop and caption to you heart’s content… And if any readers have friends at Zipcar, maybe drop them a line and point out how ridiculous that ad is.

UPDATES:

Reader Shane from Eugene sent in his mock-up:

And here’s one from Natalie:

And yet another:

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