Freedom of speech has its limits -- even in Vermont. That's the conclusion I reached after reading about the controversy of a Burlington, VT-based snowboard manufacturer -- Burton Snowboards -- that puts an image of a naked woman on the surface of its snowboards. These boards are inflaming local passions -- more than 100 protesters marched in front of its headquarters in October to protest the boards and urge consumers to boycott its products.

Burton opened its operation in Burlington in 1992 and it has a reputation as a good citizen. It matches child-care payments and pays for half of a worker's gym membership. But according to the Boston Globe those good citizen points are outweighed by the anger ginned up by the surface of its snowboards. One office manager in Burlington said, "When you really think about it, it's a young man standing on top of a naked woman's body. I probably could have gotten past it, because I try to have an open mind, but seeing it like that, it's offensive."

Burton may move its operations out of Burlington rather than cave in to the protesters. Do you think Burton's should change its product or does it have a right to put those images on its snowboards? Would you buy one of its products?

Gallery: Burton Snowboards: too sexy for the slopes?

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. Portfolio published his eighth book, You Can't Order Change: Lessons From Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing on December 26, 2008.

To see all 10 of Sarah Gilbert's top 10 best and worst naked advertising campaigns, click here.

Vermont's sexy snowboard controversy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.