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If You Can't Play, Make Fun of ThemGolfing Ad Men Create Brand That Spoofs the SeriousBy Madelyn MillerThree Minnesota ad men trying to build a buzz over their new golf brand
called Right.
They quickly admit to such flawed attitudes, however, and they are
betting --- "We want to be the brand of the best-adjusted," says Matt Farley, one of
the three Farley, Arik Nordby and Jeff Ess are the core of Magneto Communications,
Inc., While they admit to hitting their share of out-of-bounds shots, they are
pushing an outside-the-lines strategy for BogeyPro that parodies serious
golf approaches. For example, theyıve prepared detailed drawings showing how
to break a club, throw a bag
Farley, a 36-year-old golfing switchhitter, said his best score of 85 in 1995 led to "exponential frustration" the following year when he couldn't match it. That's when he came to the born-again realization that for most golfers moderation is the key to an enjoyable game. He likes to tell about a player who kept a miniature plastic chain saw in his golf bag to regale the rest of his foursome when a ball nestled next to a tree. That's the attitude Farley wants to tap with BogeyPro. To do that he is tapping his 14 years of advertising experience, including stints for the Wall Street Journal, Minnesota Public Radio, the Minneapolis StarTribune and, for the past three years, Magneto. Nordby, 34, shot his best round of 86 in 1999 but says he was "tricked" into the game because he lived across the street from a park where he honed his short-iron skills. But trying to put that together with his driver and fairway woods turned into more of a challenge than he bargained for. Now heıs trying to meld that sobering experience with 13 years of advertising copywriting. Ess, 32, learned to play with three brothers starting when he was about 12. He said his best round of 84 came during a 1996 round in which he lubricated his swing with nine beers. Since becoming an ad designer six years ago, he has taken vicarious pleasure from a brother who played on the golf team of a Minnesota college. Farley, president of JAMCO Products, BogeyPro's parent company, said that he and his partners are cultivating their offbeat irreverence to distinguish their brand from the competition. "Our marketing is humorous, but we're very serious about the products we sell," he said. The products range from high-quality golf balls, shirts and towels to novelty items. The partners cite research showing that out of 26 million U.S. golfers, 80 percent never shoot better than 90. While not all are likely to laugh at their foibles, the BogeyPro brand will succeed "if we can connect with only a small percentage of these people," Nordby said. Their typical customer is likely to be a man between 25 and 64 who has learned to laugh at his golfing foibles. "We know him well," Farley said. "We're him." BOGEYPRO |
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TM
That's why all three 30-something ad agency partners remember the exact
year 
BogeyPro's tongue-in-cheek motto echoes the knee-jerk behavior of many
average golfers after they hit a bad shot: "Swing harder."