Boozy Mondays: Preteen Martinis, Teen Tequila, and Absolut Alamo
Typically companies grow their market share by innovation and adept marketing. Sometimes they target an under-served demographic. Now I can appreciate that getting kids to drink martinis hasn’t been easy for marketers. For one thing, those olives are pretty foul tasting. For a second thing, all that shaking by untrained hands will result in a mess. For a third thing, that formal stemware is pretty unimaginative.
The solution for problem number 3 comes from Drink Wear who design funky shoe-coasters. Dress up your vodka and vermouth, while you’re dressing your Barbie!
Of course, not everyone is condoning underage drinking. Consider the story of 53 year old Dean Babcock of Milwaukee (as in Old Milwaukee.) As a security guard at the local Target he caught a 16 year old girl stealing booze - twice. The first time a bottle of Captain Morgan Rum, the second time - some tequila. Having caught the crime on video, Babcock detained the girl and called her father. Dad was grateful for the call. Target then fired Babcock for not following store policy which states that only “senior managers are allowed to accuse Target guests of stealing.” The policy stated that he was only allowed to ask the girl he “he could help her find something.” Like maybe, some salt and limes? Ole! Target. (The picture BTW is of Harry Potter’s 15 yo girlfriend.)
Finally in this look at the boozy eXperience: Absolut. Known in the industry for producing consistently lame ads comes this whopper via Strange Maps. Intended for the Mexican market, it redraws the Mexico/US border as of a few hundred years ago. But in any country, borders are pretty sensitive issues that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Borders are also porous. The Mexican ads quickly found their way north, enraging many Americans. They’re calling for a US-wide boycott of Absolut.
Absolut brass tried to calm the discontent. I must admit, they gave it that old college try!
“We are sorry if we offended anyone. This was not our intention. We will try to explain. Though you may not agree, I hope you understand.”
“We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population. This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.”
Wow. I’m anxiously waiting for more of these ads: Absolute Quebec, Absolut Tibet, Absolut Taiwan… There’s endless possibilities here!
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Filed under: Business, Media, Pirates, User Experience
For Absolute’s Quebec market, they should just label the upper yellow part of the map ‘Quebec’ and there you have it.
I don’t think Tibetans drink much vodka; they’re slightly different and less prone to vacation in Florida.