Buffalo Trace Newsletter ran the following story this morning: 

NYC Vodka Billboard Pulled After Uproar

Community Leaders Call ‘Escort Quality, Hooker Pricing’ Ad Insensitive

Source: KXLY

February 23, 2012

A controversial Wódka Vodka billboard hung up in New York’s Bronx borough was taken down after drawing the ire of community leaders intent on cleaning up the area’s image.

The “Escort Quality, Hooker Pricing” ads were posted around the city, but community leaders in Hunts Point said the billboards didn’t help their efforts to shed the area’s reputation as a prostitution hub, the New York Daily News reported.

According to the publication, the ad was removed Wednesday and the company apologized for the insensitivity of its placement.

“We talked to the community board,” Brian Gordon, managing partner for the marketing company, MMG, told the newspaper. “We wanted to help them out … People understand what we’re trying to communicate. There are certain people who, for very specific reasons, have an issue with it.”

In 2011 Wódka Vodka generated an outcry by the Anti-Defamation League after it hung up holiday billboards around the city that offered “Christmas Quality, Hanukkah Pricing.”

Wódka vodka, the inexpensive import trying to become the next Svedka, stepped on it’s you-know-what again with an outdoor message it obviously (but mistakenly) thought was cute and clever.

Back in December they ran a billboard in New York City with this sophomoric content – “Christmas Quality, Chanukah Pricing.” That ran into a firestorm of criticism and they had to literally pull the ads down.

You’d think they would have learned and moved forward in a number of new ways to get their message across. Get a new creative team, hire a new agency, and/or get internal marketing and advertising folks who know what they are doing. There are dozens of ways to get the quality-low price message across in a fun, even shocking way without being offensive.

Listen Wódka, you may think that putting a lampshade on your head is funny but trust me, after the 5^th grade it loses some of its appeal.

This time they have run a billboard with “Escort Quality, Hooker Pricing.” The best I can say for it is that it’s lame. But to compound matters they chose to run the ad on the Bruckner Expressway (trying to reach Westchester commuters) in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. According to the Daily News, “When I saw it I almost fell out of my seat, said Rafael Salamanca Jr., district manager for CB 2 (local Community Board). That’s an inappropriate billboard given what the Hunts Point community has gone through in the past.”

Some advice for the managing partner for Wódka’s marketing company, MMG. Outdoor advertising and alcohol have always been on tenuous grounds and this is not a good thing for your brand or for the industry. The childishness of the ad is not worth the effort.

The genius who loves this campaign is probably saying something about how even negative publicity is good publicity. Well, that’s not always the case. Especially when there are competitive brands with more positive messages than buy me I’m cheap.

So far as the outdoor company is concerned – shame on you for allowing this to go up. That company used to have high standards and community sensitivity. I guess an ad about hookers fits their current business practices.

Ad Age, Buffalo Trace Newsletter, Wine and Spirits Daily, Shanken News Daily and others have all had stories about Cider and its potential as the next “craft” brew.

At first I thought – no way. Cider (Hard Cider that is) has been around for centuries and never caught on. Most people I know who have come here from the UK, sooner or later miss Cider and wonder why Americans don’t drink it. I don’t know why that is – no acquired taste for it; perceptions that it’s too sweet; dislike of apple juice; confusion about what it is; just because it’s not in consumers’ frame of reference. There are lots of reasons.

If you look at the numbers, related to beer (including craft), Cider is comparable to a fly on an elephant’s ass. Yet, it grew at around 4% (on average) over the last five years compared to beer, which was slightly down over the same period. An Ad Age article back in Nov 2011 reported that sales climbed 25% last year. Here is an excerpt:

Cider is still a tiny fraction of the alcohol category and is not about to threaten beer, wine or spirits for booze dominance. But while mainstream beer brands are declining, cider is growing at a furious pace, drawing premium prices, coveted women drinkers and even more male fans attracted to bold flavors.

Hmm.

Then this week I read that MillerCoors has bought the Crispin Cider Co, a brand that grew over 200% last year. A-B has decided to jump in and is planning to launch Michelob Ultra Light Cider. Although, in the A-B case, I would guess they thought, “What the hell, the Michelob brand isn’t going anywhere, might as well make it a Cider.” Between the two, my money is on Crispin.

So I bought a pack and tasted Crispin Natural Hard Apple Cider. Not bad… it’s crisp, refreshing and at 5% alcohol, pretty much equivalent to a beer. Packaging is premium and this product can appeal to both men and women.

I haven’t done product reviews in this blog but I intend to in the future, so stay tuned.

For now, I’m leaning toward continued sales growth and acceptance by consumers. It will appeal to those looking to discover new drinks and new tastes. That will build awareness and trial, particularly among sophisticated craft beer drinkers. I also believe that Cider can take a chunk of share from Ready-To-Drink (RTD) products, particularly the Smirnoff stuff. (Are they still making that from malt?)

I think the allure of Cider will be based on its naturalness, unique non-clawing taste and imagery that appeals to a wide demographic base in terms of age and gender.

So yeah, Cider could be the next big thing.

Like many companies in the food, beverage and hospitality industry, Seagram cocktail receptions and meals were somewhere between elaborate and over the top. A long list of third world countries could feed their people from the leftovers of a cocktail reception.

A good friend and former colleague had a wonderful way of putting it, “At Seagram, you didn’t become a millionaire but you sure lived like one.” Or, at least, ate like one.

Two stories come to mind.

Toward the end, a world-class global marketing person was hired to unify the disparate marketing and communications efforts around the world. A pretty decent guy with a long pedigree and great skills at managing upward. Above all, he was a top-notch eater. At company related events involving food, he always seemed to have a look on his face akin to orgasmic pleasure.

I wasn’t there at the time but at least a dozen marketing folks tell the story of a particular eating incident in London. The cocktail reception for customers was the usual elaborate affair with passed hor d’oeuvres and a buffet designed with both the gourmet and gourmand in mind. As the evening progressed, his brand management entourage reminded the gentleman in question, that they needed to move on to a business dinner. He was reluctant to leave; particularly as the grilled lamb chops were being offered. They pressed him and grudgingly he agreed to go but not before he grabbed three or four of the succulent gems from the tray.

The team was astonished. They reminded him that there was no time to eat them since the car was waiting. Undeterred, he proceeded to stuff the lamb chops into each of his front jacket pockets and headed for the car.

In the car, on the way to the business dinner, he happily chomped away at his prize as his colleagues stared at each other in total dismay.

I was there when the other story took place.

It was at a meeting in Canada at a Four Seasons hotel. We had been very busy touring the market and learning about the Canadian spirits industry. The plan was to meet in the lobby then head off for dinner with our Canadian hosts.

Adjacent to the lobby was a bar with a tray of delectable nibbles, including sushi, right out front. One of my colleagues, also known for his voracious appetite, spotted the tray, assumed they were munchies for the guests and, before anyone could say a word, grabbed some sushi. Obviously, he was famished. After all, it might have been two or three hours since we last ate.

Just as he was about to pop the sushi in his mouth, we heard a shriek and the beverage manager ran up to him shouting, “Don’t eat that…it’s a display and the food has been there all afternoon.”

Sheepishly, he tossed the errant sushi in the trash. But for a moment, he looked like he didn’t believe her and debated eating it anyhow. Twenty minutes is a long time to wait for dinner when you’re hungry.

Buffalo Trace newsletter reported the results of a study by the Wine Marketing Council on the state of the wine industry in the US. The findings indicate that the consumer base is expanding with consumption at 291 million cases in 2011, which is up from 278 million in 2010.

Nevertheless, a spokesman for the Wine Council was quoted as saying, “Wine remains an enigma, a mystery, and we have to solve the mystery if we want to expand the consumer base.”

I think I have the answer. Borrow a page from the vodka folks and use strange flavors (cake, whipped cream, marshmallow, bacon, etc.) to expand the market.

Or, better yet, I came across a blog posting that would fit the de-mystifying of wine and broaden its appeal. Wine fermented from strange ingredients.

Robert Lehrman is a DC lawyer whose firm concentrates on the federal regulation and approvals of alcohol beverages (beer, wine and spirits). Robert is a really good guy (despite his chosen profession). He also publishes a blog about alcohol products and labels approved by the TTB. Here is the link.

It turns out that Robert is keeping track of approvals of wines made from assorted foodstuffs other than grapes. As of this week he has listed 42 such approvals and predicts the list will keep growing to perhaps 70.

The list obviously includes the gamut of fruits such as apple, peach, banana, figs, pears, pineapple, various berries and melons. Vegetables abound on the list as well, including tomato, onion, pepper and avocado. There are also flower wines (Jasmine, Hibiscus, Linden, Elder, etc.) and a load of exotic stuff including Mangosteen and Lychee.

But my favorite is Garlic wine. Don’t laugh; it happens to be good for cooking and for keeping vampires away from your cellar. Not so good on a first date.

I can hardly wait for the reviews and ratings.