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.
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.
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.
Friday’s ad is Italian but doesn’t appear to be for a specific beer, but rather seems to be more of a PSA for beer generally. “In tutto il mondo” translates as “worldwide” so the poster, which shows a glass of beer where a world globe might be, reads as “Worldwide Beer.” The poster was created by E. Arvati, but I don’t have any information on him or her beyond that. But as I have an obsession with globes, too, I’ve always liked this particular image.
Thursday’s ad is for Tuborg Beer and was published in 1960. It features a beautiful-looking nearly empty gold-rimmed pilsner glass with lace on the insides. The text reads “A-H-H-H! HEARD THE WORLD OVER … AFTER A GLASS OF TUBORG!” Tuborg used to be a stronger brand in the American market when I was a kid, and was part of United Breweries in Denmark before being acquired by brewing giant Carlsberg in 1970, ten years after this ad ran.
