If you are a company that makes fitness or fashion stuff aimed at real women ... not the runway models or the natually hyper-fit 20-somethings, but women that actually exist in the wild ... let's talk. Can we talk?
I got a normal woman you should meet. A woman who has a job where fitness is critically important but admits:
“I do all this (working out) but I’m not one of the people who finds this whole thing easy. It doesn’t come naturally to me to put myself through that (training) mill. I understand I have to because it’s my job. But there are guys out there like Tony Kanaan doing Ironman and that makes me tired just thinking about it. And yet I am working so hard trying so hard to better myself in the end that’s all I can do is work on myself and try to work within my own limitations.” (Read more here.)
This woman:
Shake hands (carefully) with my friend and race car driver Pippa Mann, who's frame and genetics are more predisposed to muscle than lean speed. An attractive woman to be sure, but one whose appeal rests as much with her badger-like determination, focus on others and self deprecation as it is does on appearance.
Pippa the Positive, who makes the best of things, soldiers on and lives on the bright side of everything. This is a woman who will appeal to about 109 million other women in the marketplace. Women who are looking for that realistic face on a product.
Oh ... and also ... she drives a race car at about 225 mph for a living, against men, while mentoring young girls and making a life with her husband ... AND putting up with her share of misogynistic crap.
You should read more about Pippa here and here. Cruise her web site here. Follow her on Twitter @PippaMann. Check out the depth of affection her fans have for her. And then give her a jingle here.
Her tenacity makes a mockery of mere mortals....no matter what gender!
Posted by: Jim Gray | February 20, 2013 at 08:12 AM
Want a great story? Just read about her 2011 Indianapolis 500. From finally landeing a ride, to qualifying on little practice when her fulltime teammate failed to make the field, to her heroic raceday - when she started on the back row, dealt with a malfunctioning water bottle that forced her to run the full 500 miles with no hydration. yet, she still managed to finish twentieth as a rookie. That's a great story.
Posted by: Oilpressure | February 20, 2013 at 09:09 AM
Pippa does more to promote IndyCar than a lot of the full-time drivers. She's out there with the fans and always has a smile on her face. The fact that she doesn't have a ride is a crime!!
Posted by: Sandy | February 20, 2013 at 09:17 AM
Wow. That deserves sponsorship. Much more impressive than the "I can't wait toget to the gym and live in my spandex" types. Impressive!
Posted by: smasma | February 20, 2013 at 09:21 AM
Pippa is truly one of the best ambassadors associated with IndyCar. She needs to be in a car! Pippa is an exceptional communicator. She was a PHENOMENAL trackside color analyst at the Baltimore GP last year!! I would MUCH rather see her in a car, but if she can't drive, GET HER ON TV OR RADIO. She was all over the Burger Bash last year, spending quality time with anyone who wished to speak to her... including tons of kids. As I said... a fantastic ambassador for the sport, as good or better than any of the current drivers. And that says something, as many of the drivers today do a wonderful job of promoting this great sport. Did I say she needs to be in a car? PIPPA NEEDS A RIDE!!
Posted by: Alan | February 20, 2013 at 09:29 AM
Pippa is what every sponsor should want, she promotes open wheel, she loves racing, and she goes out of her way to be available to fans whenever she appears. (I've met her and she is both fun and very knowledgable to talk to....and she does it all with a smile).
The two crashes with Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan, have done the lady a lot of damage....but I still think she could make the BEST spokeswomen for some sponsor...are you listening GO Daddy? Hinch is a nice guy...but if people are honest...no body gives a darn about him.
Pippa could bring a new, fresh, and if the advertising agency has a half a brain...a great foil working with Danica. (I could just see Bob Parson handing Pippa a mop, and having Pippa ask....."Are you sure Danica started this way"?)
Posted by: Ted Wolfram | February 20, 2013 at 09:37 AM
When was the last time she actually collected a paycheck for driving a car? She seems like a ride buyer with a misplaced sense of entitlement. Her record is nothing to write hlme about.
Posted by: Al | February 20, 2013 at 10:04 AM
Pippa Rocks! Any sponsor looking for an amazing spokesperson, brand representative, with true grit needs to get her on board ASAP!
Posted by: Ron | February 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM