Harley revs up cooler image with supermodel Miller

Starting Oct. 10, Harley will launch an ad campaign featuring Miller, 30, promoting the Milwaukee-based company's new V-Rod Muscle motorcycle, a sporty, sleek bike that targets a younger, urban and affluent demographic.

"This is sort of nontraditional Harley-Davidson," said Mark-Hans Richer, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "The V-Rod Muscle is really a stretch of the brand's definition in many ways."

Miller, a Victoria's Secret model, has made the rounds at reality television shows and is a regular in men's magazines such as Maxim. This year, she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition, and has also cut promotional deals with shoe company Vans and other clothing companies.

"My uncle rides a Harley, my dad rides bikes," Miller said in an interview. "I've been around it my whole life."

Richer acknowledged Harley is trying to reaching out to a younger, hipper demographic with its ad campaign. Not only is Miller more recognizable to younger audiences, but the campaign itself will feature lots of online content such as video, wallpapers and downloadable photos, he said.

"It's tilted more to the youth end of the scale," he said.

It's no secret that Harley's customer base is largely middle-aged riders and is aging fast. The median age for Harley buyers has risen to 48 in 2007, from 45 in 2002, and from 35 in 1987,said JP Morgan analyst Dara Mohsenian in a report to investors this week.

"Long-term demographic trends for Harley's core customers are unfavorable, given high exposure to older consumers and low exposure to younger consumers, which we think is a negative issue under-appreciated in the investment community," Mohsenian said.

In addition, the motorcycle maker has taken a beating from the slowdown in the vehicle market. Harley sales are closely tied to consumer confidence, which has rapidly slumped this year. The company said in July its shipments dropped more than 15 percent in the second quarter, while retail sales fell 3.6 percent from the year-ago quarter.