I'm not really sure what the issue is. Advertising of any kind is notorious for having to suspend disbelief.
Also, I don't know if he thinks that people will see the ad and then go buy a kayak and jump in the water without having done any research or gotten any guidance about kayaking. I'm pretty sure the first brochure or article you read about 'kayaking for beginners' is going to include the safety information that he thinks is lacking in the ad.
In short, it's an advertisement. It's not a how-to.
> I don't know if he thinks that people will see the ad and then go buy a kayak and jump in the water without having done any research or gotten any guidance about kayaking
I think he does, and I absolutely agree with him. I think the average person is much less likely to do research about stuff than you think, especially when the advertisements take such a casual tone and are completely devoid of any safety considerations whatsoever. It very much seems marketed towards affluent, casual users who are likely ignorant to the specific dangers of cold water.
We go kayaking with the kids, and no we do not usr cold weather gear, wet suites and what not. But then, we do it in summer, on calm lakes or rivers, wearing floatation devices / life vests, everybody can swimm and we don't go out in bad weather (safety, but where is the fun getting wet and cold?).
That being said, you don't go out in an open kayak on rough water in cold weather without proper gear. And you do not advertise that this ok.
Where do you kayak? I scuba dive in warm waters with a rash guard and shorts or maybe a 3mm vest. My dive gear for Seattle is a drysuit with multiple layers inside. Please do not underestimate the thermal conductivity of water. The bad news is that cold also slows your decision making leading to making more stupid decisions.
In this particular case, they are showing people kayaking with shirts, shorts and a PFD around San Juan islands - notorious currents, water channels through a narrow inlet and water is really cold year around. If they had shown the same people with same gear in a Caribbean location, it would have been ok. And the other person kayaking in alpine lakes with a thick jacket is even more crazy. When (not if) you fall in, it gets water logged and pulls you down.
If you try to buy base jumping gear online, some manufacturers' websites will now check who your instructors are and how many jumps you have. That's because people have been known to just buy gear and go base jumping, with no experience or instruction.
In my mind, the problem is many of the ads normalize poor behavior that isn't obvious to a new consumer. Sure, few people are going to buy an Oru and head out in snowy, icy weather. But, in the PNW, the water temp can be dangerous all year - clear sunny and 80* air with 50* water temps. And conditions in open water can change rapidly.
But if you are showing the activity, why not show it being done properly, instead of showing it being done wrong?
Of course the adverts are not explicit How-To pics/vids, but learning takes repetition. It helps that people see it being done right every time, instead of sometimes wrong and sometimes right, especially when the wrong examples are in the context of creating the "isn't this cool" vibe.
If they think it is somehow uncool to wear appropriate gear, they are poisoning the well of the sport to enhance the sales of their own product. Not cool, and they are properly called out.
I understand that extreme sells. Yet I don't any mountain bike or longboard adverts with the riders doing stunts without helmets, gloves, etc.
Plus, those adverts are showing the opposite of extreme, such as drinking a couple of glasses of wine on the kayaks out in the middle of the water body. They are making it look casual, like being in a Disney park where everything is all pre-vetted for safety. Extreme would be closer to naked polar-dips in the icy waters or running Class 4+ rapids.
And this is the exact problem — they are making this look like a causal outing that anyone can do, loike a picnic on a park bench, without bothering with the hassle of flotation and cold-water gear.
But this isn't in a hotel pond in the Caribbean, where the water is warm, self-rescue is easy, and people are nearby to help.
The parkas tell us that this is in waters that will render you immobile from cold in a matter of seconds if you aren't wearing the right gear (and that parka will soak and drag you under even if you manage to stay conscious). Fall of this "park bench" with what they are wearing, and they are instantly in a minutes-to-save-your-life survival situation.
They are literally demonstrating how their customers can get killed. And it would be SO EASY to show the opposite; just put on some proper gear.
Also, I don't know if he thinks that people will see the ad and then go buy a kayak and jump in the water without having done any research or gotten any guidance about kayaking. I'm pretty sure the first brochure or article you read about 'kayaking for beginners' is going to include the safety information that he thinks is lacking in the ad.
In short, it's an advertisement. It's not a how-to.