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By Paul Mitchell



One of the newer campaigns Molson-Coors is running is for their Rickard's Red beer. The ads feature a patron asking a bartender for something different, apparently he is tired of having the same, uninspired "macro brews" that all taste alike. As the bartender recommends a Rickard's as being "full of flavour", three other patrons at the bar start to explain (with some attempt at humour) how the beer is incredible. As ubiquitous as the ads are, do they really represent the brand?

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By Paul Mitchell



Canada has a well-earned reputation for great beer and great people who like beer. Although the general taste trend is away from traditional ales (remember how ubiquitous Molson Export was during the 70's and 80's?) toward big name U.S. corporate lagers and pilsners, Canadians still love their beer (Read a really interesting article in the Globe and Mail here). When it comes to the Canadian identity, beer is right up there with hockey, saying "thank you", and the Tragically Hip. So when I was enjoying another northern tradition of watching the Grey Cup (in 2009, between the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders), what struck me was a distinct absence of beer in league sponsorship and advertising during the broadcast. Beer and football are a classic combination. So where were the beer ads? And what struck me as even more interesting was the overwhelming number of whisky ads (whiskey for our American friends). But when you look back at the history of alcohol sponsorship in the Canadian Football League, whisky has held a very lofty place...

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By Paul Mitchell



Elephants are a dominant animal when it comes to beer. Carlsberg has their elephant beer and Tusker has an elephant on their label. Beside references to pink elephants and inferences of excess that extend to a Belgian beer brand (see the additional note for more on the beer), the "elephant in the room" has become more than just a figure-of-speech for the unmentioned. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has just released a holiday campaign to encourage responsible drinking that uses inflatable elephants as their central concept. "Deflate the Elephant" hopes to curb drinking-and-driving while educating the public on how to be a good host.

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Breaking News:



Vancouver is the first Canadian city to have vodka named after it in Absolut vodka's "Cities" campaign.
The city-themed bottle serires includes New Orleans (2007), Los Angeles (2008) and Boston (2009).
The new bottle is designed to embody Vancouver and support the local arts community, said Stan Olthuis of Sharpshooter Creative in Toronto.
Olthuis worked with Corby Distilleries, Absolut's Canadian distributor, advertising agency B Street Communications and Harbinger Communications to choose Vancouver illustrator and graphic artist Douglas Fraser to design a limited-edition bottle that shows what it means to live, work and play in Vancouver.
The design shows a yellow and blue sea plane soaring above Vancouver's skyline encased in a 'V' symbol.
"Vancouver was a natural choice for Absolut's next city-themed bottle," said Kelly Kretz, Corby's senior brand manager for Absolut vodka, in a release. "In addition to being globally recognized as an exciting, cosmopolitan and naturally stunning Canadian city, Vancouver is a hotbed of cultural and creative talent."
Corby Distilleries will donate up to $120,000 from the sale of the bottles towards a new Vancouver arts project.
Local artists can apply at AbsolutVancouver.ca and describe how they would support Vancouver art. Vancouverites are invited to vote for their favourite proposal, with the winning idea announced in 2010.

Source: Marketing Magazine

By Paul Mitchell



Disaronno Amaretto is a really good drink. Let us immediately get that issue out of the way. The Italian almond-flavoured liqueur is a mainstay of most bars and is an essential component of several great drinks, including the lesser-valued "Alabamma Slammer" that takes people back to university days of binge drinking. For years, Disaronno had been running a compaign entitled "Pass the Pleasure Around" that featured print and television commercials with obnoxious individuals trying to look cool and seductive while preparing cocktails with the drink. They also advocated drinking it on the rocks. Widely regarded in some circles as one of the most annoying commercial series, the ads have thankfully been replaced with a new campaign called "As You Like It." With a tip of the hat to William Shakespeare, the new advertisements (and campaign website) are closer to the mark, focusing on the practical flavours of amaretto and uses in classical mixology. Are the ads any less annoying however? Critics are divided. Read more....

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By Paul Mitchell



No product in the liquor business has such a storied and controversial history as has absinthe. The resurgence of real wormwood absinthe since the early 2000's has coincided with the revival of cocktail culture resulting in a huge interest in this mystical drink. The myths surrounding the liquor include that it can lead to hallucinations, delusions, insanity, clarity of vision, and many other psychological enhancements. Jagermeister, another trendy liqueur, was once coincidentally also proported to offer similar effects -- and look how popular that spirit is today! But absinthe's history stretches back hundreds of years and was hugely popular among influential artists of a grander age only to be universally banned. After a century of bannishment, the Green Fairy has slowly started to appear back on store shelves and restaurant bars. So what happened recently to created this resurgance? And what is the big deal with absinthe anyway?

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By Paul Mitchell



I have been reviewing a product campaign that is currently running on television for 1800 Tequila. There are two commercials in total (running in the United States and at the product's website), and the spot I have seen features Michael Imperioli, the swarthy actor who played Christopher Moltisanti on the Sopranos, extolling how great this new tequila is. The topic of celebrity endorsements has been discussed on this site before -- and it is understandable why a product would want to connect itself with the popularity of the Sopranos show -- but that is not what is intriguing about the advertisement. The entire spot's focus is on how the lid of the bottle can be used as a shot glass. Innovative? Not really. Interesting? Perhaps. It does, however, underscore the importance of advertising in general: that the message should be about the benefits of the product (ie. taste) and not the gimmicks.

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By A. Paul Mitchell



In years gone by, athletes could get away with a harder living lifestyle of boozing and womanizing. Professional hockey and football players still enjoy a priviledged lifestyle full of decadence like most men can never hope to emmulate, but having a sterile clean public persona has become vital to securing lucrative sponsorship deals. Furthermore, that sort of lifestyle -- while it does still exist to a certain degree -- is simply not tolerated by society any more. Discussions of self-destructive behaviour versus morality and decency aside (what would happen if Theoren Fleury and Michael Irvin had partied together?), alcohol and professional sports have underone a dramatic change in their relationship to each other. So how and why has there been such a role reversal with regard to alcohol marketing, and sports sponsorships?

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By Paul Mitchell



In its essence, beer is a simple thing. Take good quality hops, barley and yeast and ferment with clean spring water. Sure, there are many complicated processes and tweaks in between, along with vastly differing basic ingredients (there are over 1,500 types of yeast alone), but beer is usually something that brings people together for good times and harmony. So then what is going on in the Canadian beer industry these days? Companies are calling up their lawyers and battling over copyright issues and other silly things that have little to do with beer. Why have things become this complicated?

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Compiled by Paul Mitchell



Autumn brings renewed activity as people get back to their post-summer routines and their regular duties at work. Similar to my own increased schedule, professionals in the drinks world begin to stir as new products are launched and the thrill of beer promotions and golf tournaments wane. It may be expedient (I would rather explain it as pragmatism), but I have assembled a list of interesting articles that you will no doubt enjoy.

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