Marketing never fails to amaze me, more often than not for all the wrong reasons.
Tens of millions of pounds are spent every year to promote brands. For the consumer, advertisements mostly promote social acceptance, brand power, status and sometimes (but not always) great taste. These 30 second campaigns don’t come cheap, the most recent Smirnoff Red No. 21 ad racked up a tab of around £5,000,000. The emphasis of the piece was to drive home the purity of the liquid. Sound logic, but does the message really get across to the viewer, or are we so wowed by the graphic effects that the gist of the advert is lost? And, more importantly, are the Smirnoff marketeers aware of this and are they bothered about it? Or is the real underlying point of the advert to leave us in awe at the cinematic superiority of the Smirnoff brand. It’s a talking point and therefor (in the eyes of the marketing department) probably a success. All PR is good PR, but in my opinion some PR is better than others.
Another advert which has seen some screen time recently is Di Saronno. The advert depicts a trendy bar entirely stocked with Di Saronno and a (slightly creepy) bartender mixing Di Saronno cocktails for his beautiful patrons. We then see a lady flirt with the bartender and it becomes clear that the whole point of the advert is to unashamedly sell sex to us. Incidentally, a great parody of that ad can be found here. The marketing department probably sat down one day and said, “Ok, this is what Di Saronno is all about, passion, indulgence and style” and then came up with the tag-line ’Pass the pleasure’. This is all good and well, however I suspect the advert has attracted just as many new people to the brand as it has lost along the way, like me.
It annoys me slightly that a brand such as Di Saronno, with it’s rich history, has been reduced to a sleezy bar-room scene. The brands legend states that it was first created in 1525, when a widowed woman posed for Barnardino Luini as he sculpted a model of the Madonna for the Saronno church. As thanks to the sculptor she steeped apricot kernels in brandy and presented them to him, they then apparently fell in love. Sounds a little bit more romantic than a woman sucking on an ice cube, don’t you think?
The Original Keteldistileer No. 1
Anyone that follows me on twitter will know that I was a little frustrated by the recent Ketel One Vodka advert that is screening in the states. This is an artisan product that has been handed down through ten generations, from father to son, since 1691. The picture on the left says it all for me. Coal fired Keteldistileer no. 1, still in use as it has been for centuries. That’s brand history.
The point is that we are not being sold brands, we are being sold a way of life. Most consumers are not as overly concerned with the flavour of the liquid as they are the social status that it provides. Twitter can testify to this, a search for ‘Ketel One’ draws many gleaming references to the brand, the situations in which it is being consumed and how wonderfully worthy of such a product the drinker feels. But very rarely does a Ketel One drinker remark on how balanced, refined and interesting the vodka is. Or how significant it is that this brand has a heritage second to none, despite all of these things being true.
There is no doubt that today consumers care much more where their food and drink comes from. The same can certainly be said for bartenders as far as booze goes. How long until consumers feel the same way?
Got a little Captain in You? Plenty of women did...
Morgan with a doomed prisoner and chained lady.
I found out the other day that Captain Henry Morgan, of Captain Morgan Rum and Morgan’s Spiced fame, was actually a pretty nasty character. Welsh born Privateer turned pirate, he killed, tortured and stole millions of pounds worth of gold, over a period of around 20 years. There is very little reference to him drinking much rum at all, but he did die in his fifties from massive alcohol indulgence, obesity and generally not having every one of his five-a-day. Perhaps not a story that a marketing department would really want to overly assert, but a very interesting one none-the-less that has certainly given me a reference point as far as the brand goes and therefore a certain respect.
Provenance is unlikely to make a consumer feel cool amongst friends or help them chat up a girl, but it does give a greater sense of belonging, pride and significance to a brand. With a better understanding of brand history, consumers are more likely to pick a brand and stick at it. For good.
I’ll leave you with one of the best pieces of long term brand stickability that I have seen in recent times. Entitled ‘The Man Who Walked Around the World‘. It is a heritage video for Johnnie Walker scotch whisky. No need to go on about it, I’ll let Robert Carlisle do the talking.
Note: This post has been sensitively toned down. I was in a ranty mood when originally posted!
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The advertising of alcohol is the most restricted product within western advertising, gone of the day when direct false claims could be made to the consumer – see Guinness (makes you stronger). You may remember the Barcardi adverts with all round gun-bloke Vinnie Jones and a Latino girl in a bar – a ridiculous bar where girls where pouring booze over there bodies and gun-bloke was chopping limes in mid air. The advert was pulled by the advertising standards due to creating a misleading image of drinking alcohol. The restrictions are now so tight that products are either sold on their heritage and how cuddly or strong or unique it is, alternatively an overpriced conceptual ego fluffing cinematic piece of tripe is screened to us with the usually only a strap-line to boot. As long as you just don’t show them getting drunk and prettier by the minute!
Consumers are arguably more self-aware than they have ever been, we have the ability to pull apart advertising and critique it – and the impact of some adverts even gets us talking to all our friends about them. One of the most interesting elements for me is the drinks markets ability to merge their brand into other areas of our lives. Cooking shows sponsored by gin, art exhibitions and functions sponsored by a bland larger (at best) and sports events supported by sugar drinks. For me this is the more stealth part of the drinks industry and their approach to advertising. Why should a mass produced, boring larger sponsor unique and interesting art? Consumer profiling. If you fall into this larger companies profile (18 – 40, Male, £20K+ salary…) they know that their average product will appear to have that edge to said consumer over a competitors average larger – perhaps (and only perhaps) enough to make you turn round to the next bar man and say: “Can I get a bottle of Becks please?”
There’s plenty more here, in fact there is too much. In summary, I believe that the days of the self-aware consumer are too prevalent, the drinks industry knows this and those who do advertise and sponsor most frequently mostly have bland and uninteresting products. There only hope is to point there product to a specific consumer profile and stick there hands in their already full pockets.
- Good piece, you made me write a fair bit for a Sunday afternoon. Cheers
Not seen the Johnie Walker ad before, its absolutely great. However,I have watched it only the once, but must say I didn’t really notice it talk about what the liquid tastes like either.
Not a peep about the wonderful Black Label being a wee bit on the peaty side, which is what most drinkers would either love or not when sipping it first time.
Also Robbie talks very eloquently about them blending malts in the early days of the company, but I didn’t notice any chat about the blending of malts and grain together after the 1860’s, as folk tend to think grain is a dirty word (I do not by the way, am sipping a Port Douglas as I type), and of course fails to mention Scotch took over the world because of Brandy (which was and would probably would still be king) being destoyed for a time by Phylloxera, and also because the Irish, who sold alot more whiskey than us Scots, failed/refused to take to blending grain and malt together, which made as good a product at a much better price. Not really saying it should have either, but if you are interested in hearing and going into that much detail about the history and success of Johnnie, you might be interested to know that too.
I’m not bashing it, or any ad for any brand really, if you hate an ad, chances are they didn’t have you in mind when they made it,( thought the Smirnoff-everything flying out of the sea ad, was probably one of the best portrayals of purity I’ve ever seen) but I am saying all brands will only put their best foot forward, as of course they should, just some are a damn sight slicker at it than others.
If you have not read/got it yet, a great chapter in Beer Hunter, Whisky Chaser called Pants to Whisky; An Authentic Link makes you reconsider nearly everything you have ever thought about whisky marketing.
Marketing is essential, and can be a force for good, but it’s mostly a force for business, and all information gleamed from an ad should be treated as a one sided story, and all for nothing if it doesn’t want you rush out and buy some right now,
and I do fancy a Johnnie Gold Label right after this dram is finished, so job done I reckon!
The non-mention of taste thing is interesting as it is a rarity across nearly all drinks and food. A flavour is often suggested, but more often left up to the imagination of the consumer, which I guess is why we go out and buy it.
I hope that alcohol advertising doesn’t go the same way as tobacco.
We certainly have a quite a few rules when it comes to allying brands with sex, violence or non-responsible drinking. Perhaps, as an enthusiast, I am attracted to brands by completely different things to consumers. But I can’t help but think that the JW video above (played on TV) would tempt more people to try the brand than a video similar to the Ketel One ad.
I like the Smirnoff ad. It is at least great fun to watch and at best an awesome portrayal of purity. But I think a better (and cheaper) route would be to sell some of the history of the brand. In the current vodka market (where everyone is rambling on about purity and smoothness) Smirnoff needs credibility, why not share with consumers the story of Pyotr Smirnov? – Born a serf (slave), died one of the most successful businessmen in pre-revolution Russia.
I think it’s something that Stella Artois have done quite well in the past, albeit in the face of the enormous spouse bashing connotations!
This is very off the cuff, and probably with more thought might see glaring holes in my argument,,, BUT, wouldn’t it possibly be great to see alcohol advertising banned?
Please try to remember a great brand you discovered by advertising? Now think about a great drink you heard about through a friend or a bartender?
What if, you walked into a new bar, and didn’t recognise all the products behind it from the tv, and so had to actually engage your friendly bar-keep in conversation about what might be good; and instead of them just repeating the easiest answer possible, because they too have watched and absorbed brand images a hundred times on tv, they actually had to think about it, and actually recommend something they thought you might like?
What if you travelled to different parts of the world, or even just the UK, and people drank different things, because they liked different things; some because they were local, and some through happy circumstance?
Big or small, you stand or fall on what people think about you, rather than what they are urged/told/brainwashed to think about you.
Just a thought,,,
Interesting thought.
The problem is that a large majority of bartenders don’t feel inclined, or don’t have the confidence to advise a customer on their purchase. And I don’t think that a sudden lack of advertising would give them the kick up the arse required for them to form a relevant opinion.
I suspect that in a market where the customer feels disconnected from the suggestion of brand due to restricted advertising, and the bartender couldn’t give a crap, the result will be further alienation for the consumer.
Perhaps it would be the kick up the arse that mediocre bartending in the UK needs though?
Really interesting thoughts.
I find the US market a weird place when it comes to category splits.
Is Ketel One a “super premium” or an “ultra premium”? Surely at this level of whatever premium status it has TV advertising is not appropriate. When did we last see an advert for a private jet on TV? I thought the whole idea of seeding an aspirational brand is to maintain an element of mystery and elusiveness. I know all products eventually reach a level of critical mass and feel the need to ‘roll out’, but as an original fan of Ketel One I would hate to find myself in a social situation where a person I have little to no respect for starts barking on about this fantastic new product he’d seen on TV. “it’s called Ketel One. Have you heard of it? I think its vodka”
Oh dear I’ll be drinking Gin from now on.
In my other life, I work for ad agencies doing creative strategy for large brands, have worked on some really well known drinks brands too, basically trying to answer the exact kind of questions you raise here.
Essentially it comes down to the fact that spirit choice simply doesn’t occupy a lot of head space to the average punter, and the average punter isn’t interested enough to learn. So broadcast ads for big brands simply try and get across one very simple message or tone, e.g. latin.
Big brands do try and do authenticity, an example is Jack Daniels, who tell fluffy brand stories in a way so consumers think “dedication, original american stuff”.
For the smaller subset of consumers who really care about their spirits, TV and bus stop posters aren’t a good way of reaching them – firstly because you can only convey very little info in a TV ad, and secondly because it’s very expensive to reach onyl a few customers.
So increasingly, brands are trying to target “influencers” – the kind of customers who know a little and will tell their friends which brands are authentic or not – with different kinds of communication – using web, direct mail, PR and so on.
Having started importing our own cachaca, Abelha, it’s been a completely different ball game. no big marketing budget, no brand values powerpoint presentation, just us. It’s very refreshing, but a lot of hard work.