21 Jan 2010
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?
The Rickard's Red commercials started running in late December 2009 and have been appearing frequently since.
Watch the ad by clicking here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwJLX7xEhXE)
There are a couple of different versions (the variations are with the remarks made by the bar flies), but the ads are as uniformly flat and uninteresting as the last few glasses of a month-old keg. The ads also do not explain what exactly makes the beer better tasting. Is it a smoother finish? More hops? Caramel flavouring? One will never know. Advertising that your product is "delicious" or "full of flavour", aside from being wholly subjective, does not really differentiate your beer from anyone else's. In fact, I am sure a hundred people drinking a hundred different beers would say that they are all delicious. Not informative at all. It certainly does not influence me to order it as "something different".
The long-standing rumour has been that Rickard's Red (one an independent micro-brewery that was bought up) underwent quite a bit of modification in the recipe so that it is essentially Molson Export with caramel syrup added. The beer has a nice colour and decent level of carbonation, but really is not much different than any of the other brands in Molson's portfolio. That really should not be much of a surprise from one of the world's largest brewers. Despite how much tthe ads try to convince you otherwise...
Here's a review of the campaign that agrees that the ads are uninspired:
http://www.financialpost.com/todays-paper/story.html?id=2443504
Here is a background article on the making of the ads:
http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/marketer/article.jsp?content=20091215_145842_5780
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?
The Rickard's Red commercials started running in late December 2009 and have been appearing frequently since.
Watch the ad by clicking here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwJLX7xEhXE)
There are a couple of different versions (the variations are with the remarks made by the bar flies), but the ads are as uniformly flat and uninteresting as the last few glasses of a month-old keg. The ads also do not explain what exactly makes the beer better tasting. Is it a smoother finish? More hops? Caramel flavouring? One will never know. Advertising that your product is "delicious" or "full of flavour", aside from being wholly subjective, does not really differentiate your beer from anyone else's. In fact, I am sure a hundred people drinking a hundred different beers would say that they are all delicious. Not informative at all. It certainly does not influence me to order it as "something different".
The long-standing rumour has been that Rickard's Red (one an independent micro-brewery that was bought up) underwent quite a bit of modification in the recipe so that it is essentially Molson Export with caramel syrup added. The beer has a nice colour and decent level of carbonation, but really is not much different than any of the other brands in Molson's portfolio. That really should not be much of a surprise from one of the world's largest brewers. Despite how much tthe ads try to convince you otherwise...
Here's a review of the campaign that agrees that the ads are uninspired:
http://www.financialpost.com/todays-paper/story.html?id=2443504
Here is a background article on the making of the ads:
http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/marketer/article.jsp?content=20091215_145842_5780
