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The 8 Cringiest Ski Ads of the '90s

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 2:43 PM ET

For better or for worse, the cringiest ads to grace the pages of POWDER Mag didn't stop in the '80s. The '90s brought a whole new era of awful innuendos, rampant testosterone, and bad narratives about stuffing down your feelings and manning up because somehow this all had to do with skiing?

So, for a trip down memory lane to the time when size mattered and "yo momma" jokes were still funny, here are the cringiest ski ads of the '90s from POWDER Mag.

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.

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1. Goldschlager - Vol. 23, Issue 3 (1995)

Cringe Rating: 8

Is the idea here that French kissing your grandmother tastes like cinnamon, that it's an experience flaked with real gold, or that it gets you drunk? Oh, wait, it doesn't even matter because French kissing your grandmother is grody. Why would this be good marketing? Who would see this and think, "Oh, yes, I love French kissing Grandma; better buy Goldschlager"?

2. Spyder - Vol. 26, Issue 2 (1997)

Cringe Rating: 5

I can't tell if I find this ad vaguely homophobic, or just kind of anti-snowboarder. Between the off-kilter innuendos, poorly styled snowboarders, the general thought of being in this men's bathroom, and all the questions I have about speed suit relief zippers, this entire ad makes me cringe. Like there wasn't enough testosterone in skiing already.

3. K2 - Vol. 27, Issue 1 (1998)

Cringe Rating: 7

K2 has had their fair share of cringy ads over the years, and this one is definitely up there. Maybe it's a sign of the current times or just the Gen Z in me, but last I checked, the 'we fought for your freedom and we'll be damned if you're not going to use it' kind of sentiments were pretty out of fashion by the time Clinton was in office.

Also, in some sense, skiing has always been prescribed to counter-culture, not unlike other outdoor sports that were known for being rebellious. It's hard to imagine dirtbag skiers being convinced to buy skis by a vaguely authoritarian narrative. But hey, you never know, right?

4. Rossignol - Vol. 26, Issue 2 (1997)

Cringe Rating: 9

Didn't anyone ever tell Rossignol it's not about the size, it's about how you use them? Enough said.

5. Atomic - Vol. 24, Issue 3

Cringe Rating: 3

This Atomic ad isn't so much of a bad cringe as much as a, 'they took one of the most beautiful and iconic scenes in musical film history and swapped the words for an unsophisticated phrase like FAT BOYS?' kind of cringe. How dare they tarnish Julie Andrews like that?

6. Kombi Gloves - Vol. 25, Issue 5 (1998)

Cringe Rating: 3

I was trying to figure out why this ad gave me the ick and then realized that at some point, I'd watch too much American Horror Story and was having flashbacks to the character with the lobster hands from season 4. Anyway, as cringy as it is to advertise lobster claw gloves being a love child between gloves and mittens, it's also pretty funny. The cringe here is actually kind of genius and the type I can get behind.

7. Giro - Vol. 26, Issue 7

Cringe Rating: 6

Generally, I actually love the narrative of this ad. The sentiment that wearing a helmet, especially a good one, means you'll live 'til you're 136, is awesome, especially in an era where helmets still weren't popular among skiers and mountain bikers.

The cringy bit is that by enlarging the "I want to die" text in an attention-grabbing play, it also elevates the narrative that extreme athletes, like, presumably, the biker in the photo, participate in their sports at such a high level because they have a death wish. If anything, it's quite the contrary, not to mention the fact that athletes doing these so-called "death-defying" stunts are the most calculated, dialed people out there.

Notably, I have seen Giro helmets save the noggins of some friends on some insane crashes, but I fully reject the notion that just anyone can or should slap on a helmet and do whatever they please without consequence. If there's any takeaway from this cringy ad, it's that longevity is cool.