Monday, October 22, 2012

Who cares if alcohol marketing uses "adult" branding?


New Hampshire, apparently.

Industry site thedrinksbusiness.com reports that this wine, from Napa Valley's Hundred Acre owner Jayson Woodbridge, has some New Hampshire executive councilors (NH has a unique form of government) crying foul.
“This isn’t the welcome mat New Hampshire should display for tourists,” councillor David Wheeler told local newspaper The Union Leader. “We need to set a higher standard for sales and marketing – the label violates community standards.” 

Never mind that it's a booze brand, intended for adults, and the "if you see kay" gag is pretty subtle.

The State Liquor Commission agreed to move the offending wine "to the back" of state liquors stores, but defended the choice of brands.

“We sold 10 cases last week,” Joseph Mollica, chairman of the State Liquor Commission told The Union Leader. “We don’t want to offend anyone, but we also don’t want to miss an opportunity.”
Especially an opportunity for free PR.

Drinks Business concludes with the quip:
A wine called Ménage à Trois is among the 10 best selling wines in New Hampshire. 
Well played. Well... played.

2 comments:

  1. Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.

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  2. > Napa Valley's Hundred Acre owner Jayson Woodbridge

    that is so infantile: oh boy, i got to put 'eff you see kaye' on a wine label. now i am going to the wee-wee room to make doo-doo.

    and it has a really bad label, to boot.

    I-)

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