Homophobia as a marketing tool, or, Drinks Americas and Kid Rock's Badass Beer suck

[RyanMichael]

Normally I couldn't care what crap Kid Rock is shilling, I respect him as a musician but his politics have always bothered me despite all the goodwill he's earned for Detroit.

But this makes me nauseous.

http://i.imgur.com/I9RFL.jpg

I hope Drinks Americas (http://www.drinksamericas.com/) (handling the marketing) and Kid Rock get shot to shit over this.

[Skipper]

Perhaps I'm clueless but besides stereotyping, what exactly is the offense here? That gays cannot be badass or that they can't drink it?

I don't think I'm getting whatever you did from the ad. Explain this to me like I was a 5 year-old.

[sinfony]

Do you not see the flag behind the shitty drink?

[Andrew Mayer]

So, I guess it's telling you to be a "Good Ass"?

[BennyProfane]

So, I guess it's telling you to be a "Good Ass"?

What I am getting is "If this describes you, you are a wuss, so drink our beer to become a badass."

[mrmolecule88]

This seems more like it's aimed at winning back hipsters, if anything.

[Joe M.]

I've been trying to work up some outrage over this mildly incoherent advertisement, but I've got nothing.

[WarrenM]

I'm not even sure what the ad copy is trying to say. Can someone translate from illiterate redneck homophobe to English?

[Drastic]

The "think again" is an odd capper. The connection I make is Morpheus. "You think that's air you're breathing?"

So putting two and two together, drinking Kid Rock Beer will make you first able to dodge bullets, then not need to. This also has connotations that the second and third acts of your life will generally be perceived as a significant decline, so it's a subtle inclusion of the usual "please drink responsibly" small print.

[WarrenM]

Wait, maybe it's saying I should think again because my hairdresser isn't actually gay?

[Drastic]

Your little sister is actually constantly talking trash about you behind your back, and you only order the caramel latte because you saw that cute barista drinking one once. You know it's true. Drown your sorrows with Kid Rock Ass Beer! (Remember, drink responsibly. Please don't drink and drive.)

[Skipper]

I'm not even sure what the ad copy is trying to say. Can someone translate from illiterate redneck homophobe to English?

Yeah I am in this camp as well. The more I read the ad, the more I just don't understand what the missing part is supposed to be. The whole thing is unclear.

[McGraw McGraw]

I think it's saying that gay hairdressers have the power to make your sister your best friend.

[blivet]

It's the latest attempt to hype the masculinity crisis, which was exemplified best during the Superbowl by the Dodge Charger ad "Man's Last Stand."

[KevinC]

I shave my head so technically I'm my own hairdresser. Am I supposed to think or not? Do I think just one time, or am I allowed to think again? I'm so confused!

[ElGuapo]

This ad is so confusing. Is it targeted to men or women? Just confusing all around. Epic fail in both directions.

[Hans Lauring]

I just know that I won't drink any beer that taste like bad ass... or any ass. Carlsberg just launched a Lime beer, which is bad enough.

[Jon Rowe]

This seems more like it's aimed at winning back hipsters, if anything.

They have converted to PBR and Schlitz entirely. It is too late for them.

[Adam B]

Hey, the new/old Schlitz isn't that bad. It just costs way more than it should.

PBR can bite me.

[Andrew Mayer]

They have converted to PBR and Schlitz entirely. It is too late for them.

Hamm's is also acceptable. Or at least it's everywhere out here.

[Alan Au]

Surprisingly, PBR isn't as terrible as I've been led to believe, and it has the distinct advantage of being dirt cheap.

- Alan

[Wholly Schmidt]

guys im on the forum from my phone at the liquor store. don't have a sister, don't drink coffee, and hairdresser won't answer my texts!!!

WHAT DO I BUY!!1

[Eric P]

They have converted to PBR and Schlitz entirely. It is too late for them.

yeah we'll pretty much drink anything cheap that wrecks us

most recent hilarious thing has been a string of parties sponsored by colt 45 to try to convince people to drink colt 45 of their own free will.

[kerzain]

That old spice dude (the man your man could smell like) should be marketing beer. Right dude, wrong product. Old Spice isn't something you should be buying by the case in order to show up and impress your ironic friends.

[BlueJackalope]

I'm not even sure what the ad copy is trying to say. Can someone translate from illiterate redneck homophobe to English?
It looks like a "spec" ad to me.

Spec ads are essentially advertisements for the ad firm showing a prospective advertiser what they can do.

Some are good. But not necessarily what the advertiser might want to associate it's product with.
http://www.anadguy.com/wp-content/themes/AAG/images/honda-ad-Rsm.jpg

Most are probably like the one in the OP.

Here are some of the more famous ones. (http://adland.tv/content/adlands-10-10-top-ten-spec-ads-went-viral-past-ten-years) (NutriGrain being the bestest ever)

[bago]

If my hairdresser is a lesbian dating my sister playing in the mud in a bikini and I think of caramel, I DO need to think again.

[Omniscia]

...I respect him as a musician...

I don't. Not since he cashed in by robbing Ronnie Van Zant and Warren Zevon's corpses.

[Robert Sharp]

What? Robbing their corpses? Huh?

Oh, and the original ad is saying that if you are gay or effeminate you should not drink Badass Beer. They don't want you as customers.

[Omniscia]

What? Robbing their corpses? Huh?

This. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Summer_Long_(Kid_Rock_song))

[Joe M.]

Robbing their corpses?

Zombies can't be too far off now. This thread is going places.

[Robert Sharp]

Free Bird zombies, no less.

[jfletch]

My best friend is, I would say, my girlfriend's 8-pound lapdog. Am I allowed to drink this?

[jfletch]

Surprisingly, PBR isn't as terrible as I've been led to believe, and it has the distinct advantage of being dirt cheap.

- Alan

Nope, that's the secret - PBR is actually pretty good. I'll take it over Bud/MGD/Coors/etc. 10 times out of 10.

[Drastic]

Zombies can't be too far off now. This thread is going places.
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID22019/images/Zombie_Beer_Run20qDetail.png

[BlueJackalope]

Nope, that's the secret - PBR is actually pretty good. I'll take it over Bud/MGD/Coors/etc. 10 times out of 10.

Any of the American lagers, served cold enough on a hot day, are quite nice. Same goes for Mexican lager.

Or Thai

Or Japanese ect ect

[Cosmic Hippo]

Any of the American lagers, served cold enough on a hot day, are quite nice. Same goes for Mexican lager.

Or Thai

Or Japanese ect ect
Well, sure! The colder the temperature the less taste you get!

That said, I too would take PBR over Bud or Miller or whatever. If I'm going to go cheap and shitty, I might as well go really cheap for middle-of-the-road shitty. But it certainly isn't my overall preference.

[corsair]

Somehow, I can't imagine a lot of people saying, "Mmmmmmmmmmm, that beers tastes like 'Ass!"

Or a marketing campaign that basically says: "Don't like gays? Taste our 'Ass!" Kinda ironic.
;-)

Anyway, apparent they know the IQ of their market (85...collectively) and have adjusted their aim accordingly low.

[Skipper]

Anyway, apparent they know the IQ of their market (85...collectively) and have adjusted their aim accordingly low.

I especially like the women mud wrestling, aka the Miller Lite effect. Really to target that market all you need to do is enhance the size of the pic of the wrestling, do away with any words at all, and put a larger pic of the bottle of beer off to the side somewhere.

[asspennies]

Any of the American lagers, served cold enough on a hot day, are quite nice. Same goes for Mexican lager.

Or Thai

Or Japanese ect ect

"Served cold" is key here. Cold shuts off the taste buds, so you end up essentially drinking water. If you let any of those beers warm up, you'll taste the sulfides and cloying sweetness characteristic of cheap american adjunct pilsners. The majority of the Budweiser grain recipe is rice; Coors is mostly maize. Lager yeasts are not nearly as kind to rice as Ale yeasts, and maize, well, maize belongs on the cob, not in a beverage.

[Adam B]

Coors also has that tainted-by-evil flavor, so it's got that going against it as well.

Fortunately for me, the Twin Cities are awash in Summit, which is excellent and affordable.

[BlueJackalope]

Well, sure! The colder the temperature the less taste you get!

That said, I too would take PBR over Bud or Miller or whatever. If I'm going to go cheap and shitty, I might as well go really cheap for middle-of-the-road shitty. But it certainly isn't my overall preference.


"Served cold" is key here. Cold shuts off the taste buds, so you end up essentially drinking water.

Right. I was responding to the "PBR is actually okay!" Sentiment and pointing out that most pale lagers are "okay" if they are served cold. (Good pale lagers should be served cold also, yes Mssr. pennies?)

I don't find PBR much better or worse than Bud or Coors ect, its main advantage is that it tends to be a bit cheaper than the other big domestics. None of them are my beer of choice, but they'll all do in a pinch.

[Zylon]

Anyway, apparent they know the IQ of their market (85...collectively) and have adjusted their aim accordingly low.
http://files.sharenator.com/Idiocracy_Money_Only_19_95-s410x224-28024-580.jpg

The future is now.

[asspennies]

(Good pale lagers should be served cold also, yes Mssr. pennies?)

That's true. Cold, but not freezing. 40-45 degrees. And never, ever in a frosted glass.

[RepoMan]

I especially like the women mud wrestling, aka the Miller Lite effect. Really to target that market all you need to do is enhance the size of the pic of the wrestling, do away with any words at all, and put a larger pic of the bottle of beer off to the side somewhere.
Wait, that ad had words?

[salwon]

Wait, is this a Schmidt's Gay ad?

[Skipper]

Wait, that ad had words?

I didn't notice them originally myself but based on the comments I was able to cover up part of the ad and see them.

*sips his Miller Lite and watches the women on the TV ad*