Enemy at the Gates: Kawasaki Shoots Commercial in Milwaukee
Local news crew accidentally outs 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 400 as brand attempts to shoot ‘urban’ video in Harley’s hometown.
In the world of warfare, invading the home turf of another entity is always a ballsy move. The same is true in the world of motorcycles. Especially when you’re talking about sacred ground like Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the home of Harley-Davidson, you rarely catch a glimpse of bikes sporting any other moniker. Yet Kawasaki had the guts to not only descend on the town, but shoot an entire commercial there.
The real question here is, why would they do such a thing? To film a spot poking fun at H-D? To try and steal some of their thunder and grab a bigger share of the cruiser market? According to a local ad agency partner, the choice of location might be nothing more than a coincidence.
“I think maybe they’re going for more of an urban feel,” Andy Larsen told local news channel WTMJ-TV. “They may be trying to reposition and get away from only in the desert type position.”
Still, the fact remains that there are plenty of other cities with an “urban feel” to choose from. Neither the production company nor Kawasaki would respond to WTMJ’s request for comment. But the footage from that same local news bit appears to have unknowingly revealed Kawasaki’s real reason for being in Milwaukee.
According to Motorcycle.com, the green bikes you see in the video are actually the restyled Ninja 400. The current version of which is not available in the United States. They reckon that this sighting means that a U.S. return is imminent, which makes a ton of sense.
Still, it’s interesting that Kawasaki would choose, of all cities in America, the one where Harley-Davidson has existed for eons. So until we see the actual commercial, we’ll remain skeptical about its purpose.
