RV Lifestyle Promoted on Super Bowl Commerical

If you'll be like millions of other Americans and glued to the set on Super Bowl Sunday, you'll likely witness a "first of its kind" commercial advertising the RV lifestyle. RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) says it's dropping a wad of money to put RVing before the American public in a 30-second spot.

The advert, titled, "Imaginary Friends" has run before, but never to such a potentially large audience. Last year 94 million sets were tuned to the Super Bowl and thousands more are anticipated this year. While the exact amount RVIA will spend on the pricey spot hasn't been declared, it is part of a $16 million media package for promoting the industry in 2008.

The spot features the adventures of a young boy traveling via motorhome through America's adventureland. It will air sometime during the final half-hour of the Fox Super Bowl pregame show. If you're not into sitting in front of the tube waiting for gladiators to duke it out on the field, relax. Turn your web browser over to the RVIA media section and click on Watch "Imaginary Friends 30 Seconds" to see the commercial without the added interruptions!

Squabbles Kill Big 5th Wheels, But T Trailers Go 25% Bigger

Last March we reported on an RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) 'trial balloon' that would have allowed fifth wheel manufacturers to build units bigger than 400 square feet. At the time there was considerable opposition from the Recreational Park Trailer Association--an industry group of the park trailer builders. Apparently the park trailer folks felt their turf threatened. It appears the latter have come off successful--at least as far as inflating the size of fifth wheels goes.

In an interview with RV Business magazine, RVIA honcho Matt Wald says, “I don't anticipate the fifth-wheel initiative to go anywhere any time soon, (RPTIA Executive Director) Bill Garpow did an excellent job of scuttling anything we tried to do.”

But the RVIA isn't ready to roll over and play dead on 'Mac-sizing' all RVs. The RVIA recently gave its member-builders permission to upscale the size of travel trailers to 400 square feet, beginning January 1. The current maximum floor area allowed in a travel trailer is 320 square feet, so a 25% boost in size could do some amazing things for fulltime RVers and others.

Trade Group Signals Add to Industry Question Marks

While economy pundits like Blomberg are pointing to the RV industry sales dive as a bellweather for an economic recession (see "RV Manufacturers Hit the Skids") at least one industry gorilla doesn't share the view. The trade group, Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), says 'au contraire.' RVIA mouthpiece, Gary LaBella, takes a very positive view of the future of RV marketing. Pointing to its own statistics, the group holds that RV ownership is growing faster than the population with nearly one in 12 U.S. vehicle owning households now owning an RV – an estimated 8 million vehicles. Statistics and studies conducted by the RVIA also suggest the growth rates in the RV marketplace are likely to continue in the long term – with the number of RV owning households rising to 8.5 percent by 2010.

Summing it up, LaBella says, “Demand for RVs will continue to grow during the next decade, due to favorable population trends and purchase intentions."

Train wreck or bullet train? Apparently the future will decide the fate of RV makers.