Be Excellent To Each Other

Hello

I just spotted this on another forum. It's Bacardi's most recent advertising campaign. It's for Bacardi Breezers, and clearly aimed at the female population. I don't think it was in the UK, but anyway, I wanted to know what you thought. Here's a few images of sample pages:







Just wondered what people thought.

Bizarre! Surely that won't convince anyone that this is a good lifestyle choice - and that's the message, isn't it, rather than really thinking that anyone who doesn't drink that type of booze will suddenly try it as a result of the advertising. Are they for real? Seems awfully little mention of the Bacardi Breezer - perhaps they're just there to be 'outrageous' and then they can pretend to be awfully sorry, pull the ads and bask in the publicity?

Degrading? Insulting? Yep, both of those. I wonder if the models realised how their images would be used when they were having their photos taken. Sally's not that fat anyway...

I agree with teh above, but I'm also slightly concerned that Lucy is going to hurt someone.

She's actually sawing the head off a child just off camera.

That's pretty depressing really. Just imagining the sort of complete fucking cunts who dreamt that up makes me want to pummel their smug, twattish faces in.

Very bizarre. Strangely, the chief marketing officer is leaving Bacardi next month. I wonder if this was a wee parting joke from her, because it doesn't really make any sense!
I am a bit of a geek for Diageo adverts, I think they are great. They do an awesome Johnnie Walker advert in America with a robot and of course every Smirnoff or Guinness advert is excellent.

Tasteless? Crass? Certainly. But surely tounge in cheek?

I can't image that those girls in the ads didn't know precisely how their images were going to be used beforehand, in the litigation-mad world of the US of all places. Otherwise, whoever put these together could get their collective ass sued off.

Nothing to get too worried about I'd have thought; that's ad agencies for you. Besides, the Yanks don't really do irony.

Personally, I would have thought this 'campaign' will fall smartly on its arse. However, they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, so who knows? I find cigarette advertising far more cynical and evil than this kind of overt nonsense; I understand that the UK 'Silk Cut' campaign is often cited as a 'masterwork' of advertising, despite the deliberate use of subliminal, fearful imaging and all the rest? Bleh.

and not ugly either.

I'm still a little unclear, Mark. Please stop being so agnostic here; are you saying you're positively against this, then?

I'm pretty sure it wasn't in America, actually, but can't remember/find a link as to where it might have been

EDIT: site was in Hebrew/English, so Israel.

Ah right, I was working off the regrettable use of 'American English', there.

'Flavor' indeed... hmph.

I bet they've all got iPhone 3Gsesess and fancy cars with soul.

Could be flappy paddles involved, too.

Those adverts are horrible.

There is also a certain irony in selling a hugely fattening suger drink to people by suggesting they stand near fat people, because obviously they are thin if they are drinking this brilliant barcadi.

Infact if that is the (rather subtle) intention, then it could be an attempt to get around rule 11.8 (c) of the ASA advertising rules around alcohol which states:



Infact the guidance notes go on to say:


It even touches on this one too:



From what I know of advertises this was a subtle attempt to touch on these issues in a way that means the ad won;t get banned.

Source

(If you wanted to complain, (I think it would fail, but you never no) you could use this it's all on line and it will only take a few minutes. You would need to find a source for it in print/tv/radio though.)

(A) the ad's not in the UK and (B) the ASA doesn't have remit over companies' own websites anyway.

They looked scanned into a magazine?

And I did mention you would need a source.

And I did mention that it wouldn't work.

I only mentioned it as an insight into (why I think) they created these horrid ads. They wanted to promote the idea that it was summer and you'll be out on holiday (whilst drinking barcadi) & clubbing (whilst drinking barcadi) and you'll defintly score if you take your fat friend with you (whilst drinking barcadi).

Which is just sly enough to get past the rules.

I thought it was just horrible graphic design. You're right, of course!


Mainly because it doesn't break them, of course.

I used to do a lot of reviews of advertising for a multinational cosmetics company what I worked for as an inhouse lawyer, so am well aware of the tricks of the trade. To be honest, though, I reserve more of my scorn for the dumb fucks that go for it. At least the marketeers are getting *paid* for being cunts.

Mr Chris - did any of your work ever involve the advertising of mascara and the fact that the magical effects achieved by the new wonder mascaras were so obviously massive false eyelashes and cgi in close-up shots, rather than anything to do with the mascara? One of those things that really bothered me. Mascara commercials are the main reason I refuse to watch any channel that might have advertising breaks. That, and talking/dancing babies/animals in ads.

I think it's great that the advertising industry has finally stopped using size zero models.

Er, yes.

We had a complaint about one of those, oddly enough.

Of course the advertising guys didn't tell us they were fake, so we had little in the way of legs to stand on when the ASA wrote to us.

The "50%" bigger thing is sort of true, though, provided you mean "looks 50% bigger than they did without the mascara" - it's done by an optical effect of just coating the very fine ends of the lashes in horrible black sticky shit so they look longer than they did without it,as you couldn't really see the full length of the lashes without the mascara.

And I get shit for quite enjoying "Save the last dance"?

Do you get paid for wishing to be Julia Stiles? No. So shush.

The mascara adverts tell you it isn't real at the bottom in small writing now, if I remember correctly from last time I saw one.

As with anti-wrinkle creams, you are allowed to use weaselly subjective words like "appears", "looks", "feels". Just not "is".

Yeah, no doubt. But the adverts specifically tell you what they're showing you has been computer-enhanced now.

Ben Goldacre sums up the 'sciencey' bit of cosmetic adverts very well - doesn't use the word "weaselly", but same difference, essentially they make two separate statements, such as "contains collagen" and then "Collagen is an essential component of getting younger". Nice.

Friend of mine worked in advertising and they won the Smirnoff Ice campaign. Cue lots of writing of strategy papers and the like, all detailing how they'd win the 18-20 years old market.

Which is code for "14-17" - they really could care less about the 18-20s.

And then "skin appears smoother", which, as it doesn't imply a direct, permanent physiological effect on your wrinkles, is entirely okay by the ASA. Despite the sum total being that "collagen in our cream will make your skin younger and less wrinkly".

@ Malabar - some have for quite a while, it's just that they've always tried to avoid it as it automatically implies some overstatement by you as to the effectiveness of your product - "if you have to computer enhance it in the ads, then surely it doesn't work"? is the market research feedback.

I like the other Bacardi advert better. At least it has a positive message.

I'd like to see the Buckfast versions of these ads.

"sit next te pissyer scabby tramps ootside ginshaps ya bassads"

I was looking for some pictures to 'shop & found the "Stairway to Heaven".

Work your way to the top of that & everyone's sexy, though the side effects mean you're more likely to fight them than sleep with them.

How bizarre....?

It's like it's the ad campaign specifically designed not to appeal to anyone!

Ouch, that's horrible. Worse is that there must be a target demographic that'll respond positively to it.


Also, Mimi, "another forum"!?!?!?

At least they have got rid of Vinny-Fucking-Jones. I just can't picture him going out with the rest of the "Crazy Gang" Wimbledon team, strolling up to the bar and saying "Right lads, my round, 10 lagers and a Bacardi and coke please."

I can. There's no way any fucker is going to call him on it, is there?

He's not all that. I could take him.

You gonna hit him with your keyboard?

If I were in the situation where I spilled Vinnie Jones' tall Bacardi I would aplologise and offer to buy him another, being an amiable chap. However if aggro was to ensue a swift pre-emptive twatting round the head with a Newcie Brown bottle would sort him out.

Vinnie Jones would shit himself if he ever had to face someone like Donald Brashear or George Laraque.






(Actually, that reminds me of a funny story. There is a little sort of respect between enforcers (aka fighters on a hockey team) mainly because there are there to intimidate and not score. Laraque scored a goal one evening and then went out on his next shift. The opposition enforcer comes out and stands next to him and says something, Laraque looks at him, the puck is dropped and Laraque starts a fight.

Once the fight is finished, the pair skate to the penalty boxes and have a conversation on the way.

"George, what the fuck did you do that for?"
"You said "Wanna go?". So I did!"
"I said "Nice goal" you fucking idiot!"

'Tis a knitting forum, don't feel threatened by it

Have you seen how sharp those knitting needles can be?

Yes. Also, 20% of the people on there are psychotic. Really. Some of the drama that goes on there makes people here look like amateurs.

I bet there's lots of threads.

I feel threadened.

As Ross Kemp proved, it's not all that easy.

Ross Kemp had a fight with Vinny Jones?

Nah, Ray Winstone.

Knit pickers

Kind of.