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Satanic References and Urinal Jokes: The 10 Best (and Wildest) 1990s Ski Ads

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 11:11 AM ET

The 1990s were big for skiing.

The sport, which had been slowly sliding into irrelevance, suddenly started to regain its cool factor again. The advertisements of the era reflected this evolution. They were moody, irreverent, and, at times, a little shocking. What was acceptable in outdoor marketing back in the 1990s probably wouldn’t fly today.

That makes traveling back into the POWDER archives a hilarious and eye-opening journey.

These are some of our favorite attempts at pushing ski products from the 1990s.

This piece is part of POWDER's Summer of Ski Nostalgia content series. Stay tuned in daily for more nostalgic articles, and keep an eye out for the upcoming Summer of Ski Nostalgia badge to identify future content.

You can also view all of POWDER's summer nostalgia content here.

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1. Spyder: Hail Satan

The Satanic Panic? Haven’t heard of it. In the 1990s, ski brands weren’t afraid of getting truly weird. Just look at this Spyder ad. Back then, somewhere in the boardroom, a few executives probably heard the following suggestion: “Hey, what if in our next advertisement we made Seth Morrison into the literal devil?”

The execs scratched their chins, thought about it for a little while, and, inexplicably, signed off on the pitch. Thank God they did.

2. K2: Nu-Metal Skiers

As far as we know, the members of Limp Bizkit weren’t big skiers (the band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, after all). But looking at this advertisement, you might, for a brief moment, question that premise. Here, skiers Jimbo Morgan and Brad Holmes look like they’re about to drop the hottest nu-metal track of the century. Bring this look back.

3. Oakley- What's Old Is New Again

Of all the POWDER ads from the 1990s, this one might feel the most modern. That’s because of fashion’s well-documented cyclical nature. What was cool more than two decades ago is slowly becoming cool again, and that includes speedy shades churned out by companies like Oakley.

4. K2- A Good Spanking

“Your momma’s a mountain,” this ad reads. “And sometimes you get spanked.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. The great promise—and occasional nightmare—of skiing is that it’s a risky adrenaline sport; crashing is part of the program. Less clear, though, is what K2 was trying to sell here. Spankings? That can’t be it.

5. Aspen Snowmass- The Year 2000

Today, Aspen Snowmass’ marketing presence is mostly reserved and sophisticated, but a few decades ago, the resort took a page out of a different, grittier book, referencing the looming anxiety around the supposed Y2K bug. The best part of this ad isn’t the ominous text or the motion blur ski turn, though. It’s the $39 lift tickets.

6. Sunday River- The '80s in the 1990s

This ad for Sunday River, Maine could be from a different era entirely. The bold colors, splashy text, and gorgeous one-piece feel more 1980s than 1990s. It did run in the year 1990, though, which says a lot about how quickly tastes evolve.

In one moment, advertisements included skiers who looked like they were dressed as background extras in the Last Christmas music video. In the latter half of the decade, satanic imagery was, apparently, an acceptable way to sell skiing. Maybe we can thank snowboarding for that.

7. Mountain Dew- Do the Dew

This ad supposes that Mountain Dew, with its superb combination of chemicals, high fructose corn syrup, and weird dyes, can power you up the side of a glacier. Now, skiers mostly rely on Red Bull when they’re in need of a pick-up.

8. Spyder- Urinal Talk

Spyder took more than one big advertising swing in the 1990s, this time mining every snowsports enthusiast's favorite pastime: checking out another guy’s hardware at the urinal. To be clear, that’s a reference to the race suit in this ad, not whatever else was on your mind. Today, the above spread would either be reviled or adored by the internet—tough to say.

9. Mt. Bachelor- The Mt. Bachelor Wind Tunnel

Communicating to skiers how exciting the terrain at your mountain is can be challenging. You could, for one, include a few epic action shots. Some simple text that describes cliffs, chutes, and bowls might get the point across, too.

Mt. Bachelor, Oregon, took a different approach, though, demonstrating how sliding down its slopes will make you feel in a series of photos. According to this ad, skiing in the Northwest Territories is comparable to sitting behind an F-22 Raptor that’s about to take off. We're sold.

10. Tyrolia/HEAD- Mister Roboto

If you could boil down the 1990s and turn it into a ski ad, what would it be? This ad is right here, complete with a CGI robot evolving into a skier, Animorphs style. You can almost hear the intense hacker music.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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