Notorious Beam Team

All from The Scotch Blog back in October 2007. Not quite sure how I missed it?!

"Canadian Club, a product of Beam Global Spirits* is about to roll out a new ad campaign.

The concept of the campaign? Your Dad was much cooler than you are.

Yep that's right - they are saying it's cool to drink whisky BECAUSE your dad drank it, not despite it.

They are also saying that your Dad was probably more of a man than you are.

According to the press release:

The thought-provoking campaign challenges consumers to embrace their dads classic masculinity, most visibly expressed through their choice to drink Canadian Club whisky cocktails. In launching Damn Right, CC invited Beam Global employees to search through their photo albums to submit images that epitomize the campaign."

And here are some of the comments. It's certainly getting talked about. But for the right reasons? You decide.

"Bravo to Beam for missing two HUGE problems in one ad campaign!
The first, more obvious one, is that the modern drinker barely resembles the drinker of the 60s and that's a good thing. Today's drinking culture in the 25-40 range is way more realistic about how alcohol fits into their lives. My dad's generation of drinker drank for a lot of the wrong reasons and attempting to make nostalgia from that is, well, pathetic.

Second huge problem is further alienation of the female whiskey drinkers at all ages. How many women want to idolize their fathers when he was aimless and drunk? It's not so much that this ad campaign isn't tartgets towards women... that's 95% of all drinks advertising. It takes an extra special effort by a drinks company to insult female drinkers with an ad that's misogynistic today and nostalgic for more misogynistic times in the past.

Oh, and a small aside. What the hell is that lime wedge doing in that drink? Are they implying that drinkers from the 60s drank CC with a wedge of lime? Maybe Darcy from Art of Drink can help us figure that one out.

Posted by: Brian | October 25, 2007 at 08:29 AM

- Your Dad didn't hug you because he knew what a baby you'd grow up to be anyway

- Your Dad didn't have AAA

- Your Dad smoked while pumping gas

- If Dad was doing the dishes, it must have been Mother's Day

- Dad is the reason they call Vegas "Sin City" now.

Posted by: Rick | October 25, 2007 at 03:01 PM

Love this story, but the campaign is totally off the wall (even if I might get a little 'respect' from my kids!). What were the CC guys smoking when they signed this off?

And why does the ad only show the top half, and not the body copy when you click on it?

Posted by: Ian Buxton | October 25, 2007 at 04:31 PM

My Dad drank wine.

Posted by: Japanesewhisky | October 25, 2007 at 08:33 PM

"Your Dad wasn't your Mum's last."*

*A new neanderthal nostalgia styled Ad for white wine spritzers?

Posted by: Japanesewhisky | October 25, 2007 at 08:46 PM

If the expression "this is wrong in *so* many ways" didn't exist, it would have to be created for this ad.

Posted by: James Campbell Andrew | October 26, 2007 at 03:50 AM

How original. Another ad campaign that reinforces stupid ideas of masculinity and femininity. CC, it is disappointing that this is the "best" that you can come up with. Indeed, I have thought more about CC in the past 24 hours than ever before, but I will not be stopping for long, and, yes, I will be "drinking smart."

Wendy
Ontario, Canada

Posted by: Wendy | October 26, 2007 at 09:12 AM

Your dad sometimes hit your mom.
Your mom was kinda slutty.
Your dad didn't cry at the end of grays anatomy.
Your dad did cry at the end of cheers.
Your dad was a homo.

Posted by: pat vipp | October 26, 2007 at 10:24 AM

Your dad's crewcut had your mother's blood in it.

Posted by: Bob | October 26, 2007 at 03:35 PM

Well, one thing's for sure: in advertising there's no such thing as negative publicity. The campaign hasn't even officially started, has it? Yet it is being blogged all over the place. They don't need to pay Playboy to run the ad, who will love it BTW, we're running it for them. The word of mouth of it will be great. The underage crowd, who are also a huge market for them, will eat this stuff up. Sure beats their pretend Russians ordering CC ad.

Will it make me buy CC? Um, no, not before and not now. Will it make me drink whisky cocktails? Um, no, not before and not now. Will it make me buy faux wood paneling for my basement? Well, actually I like faux wood paneling but that's beside the point. I don't want my old skinny leather tie back either... but it is an effective ad as it makes you think and Real Men(TM) are back for sure today. Tough is back. Will and Grace are off the air.

My real problem with the Canadian Whisky market today is that they are being rewarded for 'innovations' such as $150 no age Canadian Whisky. Crown Royal XR started it and now Wiser's Red Letter is next. I would never buy them even if they came with a coupon for fake wood paneling.

Posted by: Harry Pulley | October 27, 2007 at 07:12 PM

Ian- You have to change the zoom level to 50 or 75%.

Posted by: docholiday | October 28, 2007 at 11:41 AM

Thank you, docholiday. I found the little critter and now it works fine - you learn something new every day!
I've got real wood panelling in my study - well, traditional painted tongue and groove, but not as 'groovy' as the swinging cat in the ad.
And love that copper galleon - where can I get one of those?

Posted by: Ian Buxton | October 28, 2007 at 01:45 PM

Remember an ad is aimed at a target audience, they don't care about what anyone else outside the target audience thinks. Therefore, I think it's a successful campaign because the demographic they are aiming this campaign for is going to eat it up and love it.

Posted by: Rod | December 25, 2007 at 12:31 AM

Not sure I agree with your idea that ads like this are aimed at a target audience - as far as I can tell This ad was meant to be placed in a variety of periodicals (Not just "Guns & Ammo")

But even if it were a true statement, how can you measure the success of an ad like this? If self-proclaimed misogynists start buying more CC?

Posted by: Kevin Erskine | December 28, 2007 at 09:08 PM

Great advertising! Provocative, runs against standard PC, and brings all the 'hate-male'rs out in force! Sod 'em, I love it (but then, I liked my Dad, too).

Just needs a little more irony to be truly cool.

Posted by: Stuart Mackay (a Scot) | January 22, 2008 at 06:04 AM"

The advertising has tapped into something of a zeitgheist. Let's see what impact it has on sales and how it gets activated in bars and on the internet and outside of the USA etc.