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Star Power Booze

January 9, 2013 No Comments

Celebrity

Celebrity endorsed or owned liquor products, with a few notable exceptions, nearly always fail. So why do these products keep coming out?

This subject was first covered in an August 21, 2010 posting but the line up of recent new efforts makes it worth re-exploring.

Let’s start with those that seem to have made it.

Top of the list is P Diddy and Ciroc. The brand started life without him but, with him, it has gone through the roof. He has a following and, with an interest in the brand, his marketing has paid off. Next up is Sobieski, with a Bruce Willis connection. He licensed his image for which he received shares in the parent company. Is it Willis or the attractive price point that has made the brand strong?

Then there is Bethenny Frankle and Skinny Girl. And, let’s not forget Dan Akroyd and Crystal Head.

What’s in a Name?

November 9, 2012 No Comments

Bevlog, the blog run by my favorite alcohol industry attorney Robert Lehrman, has an interesting posting about a new vodka product. It’s called “Chokin’ Chicken.” The TTB approved the label in early Oct. You can find the blog here.

Is it a new direction in vodka? Are we moving from candy, cake, bacon and other flavors to nomenclature designed to get attention by being over the top. You know, like the guy who thinks he can get a laugh by putting a lampshade on his head.

Probably not. This most recent example of branding “excellence” joins the ranks of other previously approved sexual innuendo brands like – Spank My Ass and Call me Sally, a red wine from California; Well Hung Vineyard, a red blend from Virginia; and Vas Deferens Ale. (You’re just going to have to Google that one.)

Fortunately, none of these brands have seen the light of day, so far as I know. Which, I suspect, will be the chicken’s fate.

I don’t know about you but I’m glad the TTB approved these names. Their job is to regulate, not act as censors. Besides, they probably didn’t get the double entendre of chokin’ chicken.

It’s your tax dollars at work.

Sorel: The Story Continues

October 1, 2012 No Comments

Sorel is a startup spirits venture from a company called Jack From Brooklyn. Jack Summers and his partners, Alan Camet and Rich Nazario, run it.

If you are a regular reader of Booze Business, you know that I’ve been following the adventures of Jack and his associates and have written about their efforts on a number of occasions (see April 27, June 5 and June 13^th postings this year). It’s a blog meets startup meets reality show.

Well, the summer has gone by and I spoke with Jack Summers about what they have been doing. Here’s the conversation: