Ok, so, I’m in walmart on the weekend looking for some cheap sunglasses and I come across Ironman brand sunglasses (made by Foster Grant under license from the WTC). I was quite surprised, as they are clearly cheap sunglasses ($20cdn), and aren’t worth any more than that… actually, I’d go as far to say that they are probably slightly over priced. Regardless, one of the Ironman styles fit me the best (because we know its all about fit), so I bought them.
Clearly this is a sign of what the ironman brand means to the average consumer (I walked past timex ironman watches on my way to the sunglasses)… but does this cheapen the branding? Or does this mean that Ironman is a household name, and our sport (triathlon, not just IM) is becoming mainstream? This is walmart, so clearly there are millions of these sunglasses out there.
for what its worth, I haven’t done an IM distance race, so I guess wearing these makes me a poser of some sort. Just like my first Ironman triathlon watch did when I was 12.
I was hanging out in the “alternative” part of town on Sunday evening eating a brrrrito when (I assume a homeless) guy comes riding by on an IRONMAN mountain bike, outrigged with a week’s worth of supplies.
Scrambled to whip out my camera phone, but he was gone.
Never have seen those before…where do you buy them?
Wouldn’t these sunglasses now be the “Ford Ironman Foster Grant Sunglasses”???
I have owned Ironman brand sunglasses and they were just barely OK. I have also owned one of the early models of Oakley sunglasses. Guess which pair I lost within a year and which pair I still have?
I think the name brand glasses are hugely overpriced. They are obviously better, sturdier, better fitting, better for the eyes, but not 5/10/20 times better as the price would indicate. As soon as I drop them once on concrete, and you know they ALWAYS land lens-down, they are just another pair of scratched sunglasses.
I have also owned Ironman watches. I’m still not an Ironman, but I bought it for the name, and perhaps the incentive. Every time I check the time, I am reminded that I have at least one more thing to accomplish before I die.
At least the watches are good quality along with being affordable. They could have done better on the sunglasses.
The website seems to be down (but luckly there’s a google cache), and a little old (2003 I think), but it looks like it’s the market research for some Ironman brand products…
I don’t mind Ironman branding at all, but it seems that more than half of the stuff being sold is very cheesy. Maybe I’m snubbish, but I’d like to see IM-Oakley sunglasses, IM-Giro helmets, IM-Pearl Izumi gloves, etc. On the other hand, it’s great that Ironman has become a well known name.
The Timex licensing deal is generally regarded as one of the best and most successful of it’s kind in the world. The watchs are now available just about anywhere. It’s been a hugely successful relationship for both parties - Timex and the Ironman/WTC
My sense that they( WTC) are contiunually searching for that product relationship that will be the next big home-run like Timex has been.
My understanding is that there is no IM branded casual apparel starting to show up in some department stores. This was previously only available onsite at IM races in the merchandise area.
We got my daughter some Fig Newtons in the snack size (they are like 2 oversized Newtons per pack), and they have the M.Dot logo on them.
“Fig Newtons - leading cause of IM Portapotty stops for over 20 years.”
I’m waiting for the M.Dot condoms to come out. Can’t wait to see the ad campaign for that. “Yeah baby, they call me Ironman for a reason. I’m all about endurance.”
Isn’t WTC owned by some eye surgeon in central Florida? If people only knew the real story they probably wouldn’t feel the IM label or brand was such a big deal…
yeah, to be honest, its like they are using the Timex-Ironman success as a sales pitch to all these other products. In terms of these sunglasses, the mdot logo is not one signifying quality. The same goes for Ironman branded treadmills… would a serious ironman triathlete be able to train on a middle of the road treadmill? People pay a premium to participate in mdot races because they are high quality. I think its sad that the WTC is selling its trademark to anything and everything in an attempt to make a quick buck. I hope they know what they are doing.
Though truth be told, the Timex deal didn’t work so much because of a logo on it, but because the product was so good- a cheap, waterproof sports watch that’s damn near indestructable. All the swim team kids I knew had one of them even though they never would have ever done a triathlon because of all that icky running stuff involved.
The Timex/Ironman deal pre-dated the HUGE growth in running, triathlon and in general all endurance sports. Orginally we bought the watch for the reasons you stated - it was simple, it was well made, it was inexpensive and it worked. I still have, kicking around somewhere, the first Timex Ironman watch that I bought years ago. It’s had the crap pounded out of it, but I bet if I put a new battery in it it would start working just fine. What’s that famous Timex ad line from years ago - “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”
Makes me sort of glad I didn’t get a M-Dot tattoo. Can you imagine, a couple of years from now, IM could be like Walmart status. I think I’ll go into Laser-tattoo removal.
Right now, I am wearing a 3 year old ironman watch that i bought for no more than $30 bucks. I rarely take it off, and it never, ever stops ticking. I replaced the strap about 2 years ago. I haven’t even replaced the battery, and the indiglo still works. The genius behind the watch is timex, and not the logo.
Interesting and ironic trend I have noticed given the contents of your post.
For some strange reason I found myself in Wal Mart a few months ago - long story. There seemed to be a a significant and propotionatly higher percetage of shoppers in Wal Mart with tattos, than I have noticed elsewhere. Why is that?
