The seventh Guinness poster by John Gilroy is set at the beach showing another of the “Guinness For Strength” series. It shows a diver coming out of the auction holding up a whale with one finger and instead of oxygen, has a bottle of Guinness strapped to his back.
Virtually the same ad has also appeared in a vertical aspect ratio.
This has the ring of false controversy all around, with a WTF! vibe thrown in just to keep us off guard. Famous for being famous person, Paris Hilton, is embroiled in yet another scandal, this time for being “too sexy” for television … in Brazil! I got wind of this yesterday when AdAge ran a story about it entitled Is Paris Hilton Too Sexy for Brazil? My initial reaction was that walking down the average street in Rio De Janiero during Carnival, she’d hardly stand out at all.
Hilton is apparently involved in the entire campaign for Devassa Bem Loura — or very blonde — beer, as evidenced by her being featured on that portion of the brewery’s website. Devassa in turn is owned, at least in part, by a larger beer company, Grupo Schincariol. Grupo Schincariol is Brazil’s second largest brewer after AmBev, a division of Anheuser Busch InBev.
The brand name itself apparently is slang for — how shall I put this? — “a loose woman” and Bem Loura, the particular flavor Hilton is endorsing, means “very blonde” in Brazilian Portuguese.
What the headlines are missing, of course, is that it’s not her “sexiness” that has the government up in arms, but the potential violations of specific bits of their advertising code that prohibit certain actions in advertising alcohol — rules few other products have to abide by. Sex, of course, is used to sell practically everything, but people get their panties in a twist when there’s alcohol involved. So apparently Brazilian “ad regulations stipulate that beer commercials cannot treat women as overtly sensual objects, though ads can show women in bikinis if they are on a beach.” Uh, having seen plenty of Brazilian beer ads, is that really enforced? A spokeswoman for the Brazilian Women’s Secretariat told London Telegraph that “It’s an ad that devalues women — in particular, blonde women.” I’m not arguing that it doesn’t, just that it seems no worse, and frankly a little tamer, than many other beer ads I’ve seen. If we’re going to go nuts again about the double standard in alcohol advertising, I’m not sure this is the best test case. Take a look below, and see if you can find this more offensive than the average beer ad. Bad? Maybe. Worst yet and having finally crossed the line? You tell me, I certainly don’t think so. Personally, I don’t find Paris Hilton all that appealing, but plenty of other men sure seem to find her sexy. While I’m not immune to a pretty face, I find brains far more sexy, and a pretty face with brains a lethal combination. That’s why I married a woman smarter and more attractive than myself. Ask anyone, it’s true.
Hilton did herself no favors when during a recent trip to Rio to promote Devassa beer, she got drunk and danced on stage. According to the Advertising Age piece I referenced earlier:
Brazil’s self-regulatory body, Conar, is investigating an ad campaign starring Paris Hilton for Devassa Bem Loura beer for being too sexually provocative, even by the racy standards of Brazilian beer ads.
According to local trade publication Meio & Mensagem, Ad Age’s partner in Brazil, Conar this week opened three different investigations into local brewer Grupo Schincariol’s launch campaign for Devassa Bem Loura (Portuguese for “Very Blonde”) beer last month during Brazil’s riotous Carnival.
US Magazine reported that “Eduardo Correia, a spokesperson for regulation company Conar, which has opened three investigations into the campaign, says the ad is particularly offensive because it doesn’t take place on a beach. ‘The problem with the ad isn’t a lack of clothing, but its sensual nature,’ Correia said. ‘A woman in a bikini on a beach isn’t necessarily sensual; it depends on the context.'” Now I don’t want to defend the ad, per se, but really? The outrage is because she’s somewhere other than on a beach? That sounds like a double standard if ever I heard one.
Another account had this to say. “This is, honestly, a bit of shock. The commercial is surprisingly tame. We’ve all seen Paris in several states of undress (many times!) throughout the years, so this is sort of yawnfest. Perfume ads incite more lust.” My thoughts exactly, a yawnfest.
Friday’s ad is for Schlitz, and seemed appropriate since we’re in the waning days of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. This Schlitz ad was part of their “Real Gusto” campaign and ran during the 1964 Summer Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan. The ad features sportscaster Tom Harmon, father of actor Mark Harmon, who anchored the Tokyo games coverage on NBC.
I may have some of the facts here wrong or may simply be missing something, but over the last week of paying some passing attention to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver — especially Curling — an odd picture has emerged concerning beer and America at the Olympics. A few nights on the Stephen Colbert Report, Colbert visited several nation’s International Houses, places for the athletes, visitors and sponsors from individual countries to go and relax with their fellow citizens and watch the competitions they don’t have tickets to, as well. Usually, they show off part of their culture — or the sponsor’s products — and they’re also places to celebrate. For example, at the Swiss House they had fondue, the Irish House featured folk music and the Russian House had foosball hockey. After visiting several houses, Colbert ends the segment back at the Irish House, saying it was because USA House didn’t have a bar.
That’s right, even after doubling the size of USA’s hospitality and having two separate houses (one in Vancouver and one in Whistler) there was no bar for American athletes or sponsors. Now, I don’t know for certain that we’re the only international house without a bar, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me. We’ve done our level best to separate alcohol and move it into this otherworld that’s separate from the regular world that everyone lives in. So besides the fact that every other country can handle having alcohol be a part of their celebrations, at USA Central it’s believed that sports and alcohol can’t mix. You see it in college sports. You see it in the drive to eliminate drinking at professional sporting events. It’s always motivated by the fact that because some people can’t handle themselves, so then the logic is everyone should be prohibited from enjoying themselves. I’m sure other countries have their share of people trying to ruin it for everyone else — but somehow they’ve managed to make it the problem of those individual people and not the majority who can just get on with it. I, too, cringe whenever I see a bad drunk but not because I fear for that person, but because I know that neo-prohibitionists will look at that person and extrapolate his problem to include everyone who drinks. And so one result is the American Olympic Committee concludes it’s too risky for there to be a bar in our international house, despite the fact that craft beer is something America should be justly proud of.
Thursday’s ad is for Sapporo, since the Japanese brewery was founded today in 1889. Following western brewery advertising standards of the day, this one was published nineteen years later in 1908.
Wednesday’s ad is for Schlitz, one from their long-running “Just the Kiss of Hops” series, and apparently published around 1960. It looks to me like those luscious red lips on the raven-haired beauty are about to kiss the hops, rather than being kissed by them, as the tagline suggests.
Tuesday’s ad is for Carling Black Label and was originally published September 25, 1957. While quite effective in getting across its message, it’s an odd message nonetheless. Carling is trying to convince its customers that its beer is so light it’s like a feather. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t want to drink a feather, do you? Visually, though — especially before the digital age — having the beer bottle resemble a feather is quite well done. Now that’s a light beer!
Monday’s ad is for Buffalo Brewing, a Sacramento, California brewery that opened in 1890, in honor of the first day of Sacramento Beer Week. Though I can’t be sure, my guess is it’s from around the turn of the last century, when vague art and beautiful, often naked or scantily clad, women were all the rage — not like in the more enlightened future of today.
I’m no longer sure what to make of the undoubtedly mock feud between Scotland’s BrewDog and Germany’s Schorschbräu over who can make the world’s strongest beer. I’m sure it’s great publicity for both companies, as each one-ups the other for the title. The latest salvo is BrewDog’s Sink the Bismarck, a clever name given the contestants.
Unlike the last extreme BrewDog beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin, this one is not a dark beer, but a hoppy one instead. Sink the Bismarck, at 41% abv, bests the latest 40% Schorschbräu beer by one percent.
Sink the Bismarck is a quadruple IPA that contains four times the hops, four times the bitterness and frozen four times to create at a staggering 41% ABV.
This is IPA amplified, the most evocative style of the craft beer resistance with the volume cranked off the scale. Kettle hopped, dry hopped then freeze hopped for a deep fruit, resinous and spicy aroma. A full out attack on your taste-buds ensues as the incredibly smooth liquid delivers a crescendo of malt, sweet honey, hop oils and a torpedo of hop bitterness which lasts and lasts.
As the BrewDogs readily admit, the whole things is somewhat silly, and I’m sure more people will continue to be angered by all of this, in a sense, I think, missing the point. This is great marketing. And while not everyone liked Tactical Nuclear Penguin, so far the reviews I’ve seen for Sink the Bismark have been mostly positive. Michael Ironside, who writes Diary Of A Hop Head, thought it was “wonderful.” Mark Dredge, who writes Pencil & Spoon, had this to say about it:
Maybe the hoppiest beer I’ve ever had, earthy, citrus, floral, imperial. So thick and full bodied, like syrup, like honey. It smells like a hop sack, so fresh, uniquely fresh, like hop resin, hop oil on the finger tips. It’s sweet like candy but hot like bourbon, it’s smooth but jagged, it’s bitter, it’s intense, it’s astonishing. Five months in the making, this is insane US Extreme IPA meets Scottish whisky, an unimaginable blend.
I’ve bought a bottle and I’m glad. Sink the Bismarck, whatever you think about the name and the marketing approach (it’s a bit of fun, nothing more – initially the name is shocking but it’s more of a jovial up yours than a vicious fuck you), is a special beer. It might not be to everyone’s taste – in all senses – but it’s a remarkable achievement.
Mark was over in San Francisco for SF Beer Week and I had a chance to spend some time with him at a couple of events, to the point where I trust his opinions and appreciate his point of view. Mark was also declared “New Media Writer of the Year” by the British Beer Writers Guild, so I don’t think anyone can dismiss his opinions out of hand. This is not just an extreme stunt beer, but a great-tasting one, as well. I hope I can have an opportunity to try it for myself.
Given that Schorschbräu’s website states that they’re at “40% and still going strong,” I’m sure we can expect yet another stronger release from them. What BrewDog has up their sleeve is anybody’s guess, but you can bet it’s something interesting.
The sixth Guinness poster by John Gilroy is another of the many ads that are in a zoo. In this one, one of the most famous, an ostrich has swallowed a pint glass whole and it’s visible in his long neck. The tagline is perhaps one of the most common, “My Goodness, My Guinness.”
Virtually the same ad has also appeared in a slightly different aspect ratio.
