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Booze News — February

March 1, 2012 1 Comment

Here’s a round up of some of the peculiar news items I’ve come across in the month of February.

My favorite retailer

Among my proudest accomplishments is the fact that I’ve never viewed an episode of Jersey Shore, the TV reality show. I know all about it but consider it to be offensive in content and serves to foster inappropriate and incorrect stereotypes. As a result, you can imagine my delight in learning that Jersey Wines & Spirits in Jersey City has apparently taken the initiative to ban two of the “actors” from the show.

Snooki and J-Woww (I could not make that name up) will be living in a home in Jersey City while filming their new spin-off. The home is next to the store.

Stupidity Follow Up

February 24, 2012 1 Comment

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.

When Stupidity Overtakes Creativity

February 22, 2012 No Comments

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.