Notorious Beam Team

When we went to Wahaca in Covent Garden we filled our pockedts with what we thought were prettily coloured boxes of matches. But joy of joys they turned out to be little cardboard sticks with chile seeds attached to them.

I didn't take a picture of the seed book from Wahaca but I have found a website called Matchstick Garden which does them. They make a great alternative for restaurants and businesses instead of making boxes of matches.



So we planted our chile seeds about 2 weeks ago in some vague hope that they might sprout. And shock of shocks... they've only gone and sprouted! Our office is rapidly developing into a tropical garden with a bird of paradise, 2 Sauza agave plants, a small succulent and 8 nubile chile plants. In only a matter of months we'll be harvesting our crop of chiles!





Well done Wahaca. What a great example of new marketing. Essentially they have given away something surprising, interesting, relevant, good and talkworthy. On object of sociability that gives Wahaca a feeling of authenticity, goodness and engagement. Keep an eye out for updates on how the little chaps are getting on.

Conversations.... conversations... conversations...

Which is what Tony Blair said when he came into power in the late 90s... or was that something else?

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Brilliant Gourmet TV site featuring enthusiastic Epicureans from whisky and tea lovers to people who rave about Tequila.

We ought to do a few pieces on here with our brands.

Introducing sauzatequila.com. It's time to think of Sauza Gold & Blanco in a completely new way... Fresh and Unexpected.


And fresh and unexpected our new site certainly is. With a 3D animation navigation system, energetic and exciting movement through the site and featuring our over sized fresh new packaging, the site offers consumers a stimulating and refreshing adventure into the world of Sauza Gold & Blanco, providing them with a tequila experience unlike any other.


Learn more about the Sauza family and history, explore how Sauza Tequila is created, make your mouth water in Cocktails & Shots or check out the fun people are having at Sauza Gold & Blanco events that are happening all over the world.


This is one tequila experience that won't leave a bad taste in your mouth, go to www.sauzatequila.com and enter the refreshing and appetizing world of Sauza Gold & Blanco.

Welcome to the world of exhilarating pleasure that is Hornitos Tequila. The new, sleek site brings our premium brand to life online, offering consumers a smooth journey around the intruiging and stimulating world of Hornitos.


A major relaunch in July 2007 saw the introduction of new Hornitos packaging, a new brand positioning, new creative campaign and exciting new variants – Plata and Añejo – completing the offering of a family of 100% agave tequilas. These elements come together at hornitostequila.com where browsers are immersed in the brand and can explore areas such as the making of Hornitos, worldwide events and how to create the perfect Hornitos cocktail bursting with lively agave flavour.


An aesthetically appealing design, ease of navigation and extensive, engaging content make for a very enjoyable visit and a site we should all be proud of. Log onto www.hornitostequila.com and discover all the exhilarating pleasure Hornitos has to offer.

A nice piece of CRM from Patron. Members of the Patron Social Club receive monthly downloads to keep them up to date with the latest trends and current Patron activity.

In this months issue... Faking it: Urban dudes donning outdoor chic, Taxicab confessions, karaoke style, Patron Movie Events and ID your bottle.


Patrón, along with Landmark Theatres, has invited a number of Patrón Social Club members to be guests at exclusive movie events nationwide. The appropriately named series, Margaritas, Mojitos, and a Movie, invites guests to enjoy on-the-house Patrón cocktails, appetizers, and tickets to a movie of their choice.

In an attempt to develop stronger consumer relationships, Patron are using trend sharing and trend watching to their advantage. Members are invited to check out "The Latest" to find the latest and greatest trends and contribute to the mini blog to help up the social ante.

Standing by for next months installment, very handy for keeping an eye on the competition!

This embarassing story is from the just-drinks site:

"Diageo has been forced to apologise to the organisers of a Scotch whisky awards, for voting repeatedly for its own brands.

"Kevin Erskine, the owner of thescotchblog.com, noticed earlier this week that a raft of votes for the upcoming 'Drammies' had been sent from the same URL, at Diageo. Speaking to The Guardian, Erskine said: "I noticed some of the votes were coming in with the same format, the same two addresses and the same votes. They were clever enough to use different names each time, but the URL was the same."

"When contacted by just-drinks today (16 January), a spokesperson for Diageo said: "What we have here is an over-exuberant brand manager in the US who sent an ill-advised round-robin note to a number of his colleagues urging them to vote for our brands in the Drammies.

""We certainly don't condone this behaviour, and have apologised to the organisers of the Drammies."

"Diageo's Johnnie Walker Scotch brand has been nominated for a Drammie."

Thanks to Ian Buxton for this one. There is more information on the Drammies on inebrio.

More in Contagious.

This launched in Singapore. Agency: OgilvyOne

Back in August 2000, The Mauel Antonia Hotel in Costa Rica bought this 1954 Model US cargo plane, Fairchild C-123, for a bargain of $3,000. The plane has a fascinating history, having played a part in the Reagan administration's arms scandal of the 1980s [detailed on costaverde].

The world’s most expensive Christmas cocktail has been unveiled at Movida nightclub in London. The club's A-list regulars will be able to order "the Flawless" for £35,000 ($71,000) a glass.

The cocktail's ingredients are:

• Large measure of Louis XII cognac
• Half a bottle of Cristal Rose champagne
• Brown sugar
• Angostura bitters
• Chips of 24-carat edible gold leaf.

In addition, there is an 11-carat white diamond ring at the bottom of the glass. Understandably, given the cost, two security guards overlook proceedings to make sure nothing goes awry.

Story from Elite Choice and The Telegraph...

Movida Club, London.

Dom Pérignon has unveiled a limited edition 1995 Vintage White Gold Jeroboam commemorative champagne for 2008.

From Elite Choice...

"Featured above is this exclusive gold-plated bubbly that was offered to the rich and renowned during their exploit and adventures on the periphery of the Côte d’Azur. It gained significant importance at the gala ceremony attended by superstars, models, and tycoons.

"Annotations of brioche and sugar, blended with fresh almond and apricot make for the deep, obscure aroma of the champagne. The recent drawing of the bottle has an etching of the Dom Pérignon crest, enfolded in a sheath casing of white gold. Counted 100 bottles are available globally with the jeroboams available at The Matsuzakaya Department Store in Nagoya’s Sakae-ku and is retailed at $11,005 a bottle. The sales are being embarked from Matsuzakaya and another 20 bottles are expected to be sold in Japan while remaining cost $40,000 plus in nightclubs in the U.S."

Hotel Byblos in St. Tropez has 10 bottles for sale. For a mere €12,000, the champagne will be brought out to the “James Bond” theme, accompanied by fire and sparklers. Just make sure you don't knock the bottle over!

Lifted directly from Church of the Consumer:

"What does a cult brand look like? Well, here's one example.

Westvleteren A religious order of silent monks in Belgium creates a cult beer. It's called Westvleteren. You must make an appointment to buy it. To make an appointment, you call the monks' Beer Phone. Yes, it's called the Beer Phone. The monks may talk while on the Beer Phone. You may buy only two cases at a time. The beer is sold once per month. The monks do not advertise, nor do they label the bottles. They make 60,000 cases per year; that's 5,000 cases per month, or 120,000 bottles. Texas Stadium probably sells 120,000 units of beer every Sunday. Tales abound of people driving 16 hours across parts of Europe for a beer run. Some experts call it the best in the world. The monks believe, truly, that they "sell beer to live, and not vice versa."

Besides being what people describe as an excellent beer, Westvleteren has developed into a cult brand based on its rituals. All of the items mentioned above are ritualistic. Make an appointment. Call the Beer Phone. Two-case limit. No label. A regular release schedule. A unifying belief system. However they're defined and practiced, rituals embody culture. They are symbolic expressions of a company's values.

For organizations not religiously grounded as Trappist monks, rituals can be simple, like consistently observing dates in company history or paying public homage to goals attained. More elaborate rituals may involve meeting or surpassing milestones focused on quality. No matter what, corner-cutting is heresy.

A cult brand like Westvleteren is created by people religiously devoted to their craft. The monks in Belgium are serious about their business, but they do not obsess over maximizing profit or monetizing eyeballs. They do not do brand extension. They embrace scarcity as a necessary component of quality, thereby ensuring future value. Just as the Wii is a cult hit because it is an excellent product that's not easy to buy, so too with an unlabeled beer that's been religiously produced for 170 years.

After all, cult is the root of culture. It is culture that creates a cult brand."

From Luxist

"Earlier this week I came across the "80 things to watch in 2008" list from advertising agency JWT. It's is an interesting take on what might be hot next year. Some of the things make easy sense like actress Keira Knightley who is currently on the big screen in "Atonement," Beijing in 2008 (the upcoming Olympics will be held there), and various things eco (eco-fatigue, blue as the new green, green weddings and carbon tax) all made the list. For luxspotters, there are a couple interesting notes such as the rise of hot fashion names Phillip Lim and Vena Cava, the humbling of the hedge fund manager and skiing in unique spots like Kashmir, Japan and Greenland. As someone who follows the wine and spirits world I was struck by number 69 on the list: tequila is the new wine. It's an ambitious statement but I'm not sure I buy it. First of all, tequila production has grown but it is in no way poised to take wine which is produced all around the world. And while people are starting to have an increased appreciation for handcrafted and artisanal tequilas, it's nothing even close to the world of wine connoisseurship. Now, tequila is the new vodka, and that I'll believe."

Could be a great year for Sauza!

A beer so exclusive it doesn't even have its own website and is almost impossible to find.... Carlsberg 900 is rare and very desirable.

From Trendwatching

"Carlsberg 900 (which doesn't have its own website) launched this summer in a very limited number of selected bars in Stockholm. Developed in collaboration with 12 top Swedish bartenders, Carlsberg 900 is “brewed from refined virgin hops and selected crystal malt, and triple filtered with a longer cooler fermentation process to ensure a pure, delicate taste.” Carlsberg 900 is priced at the premium end of the market, about the price of decent glass of champagne."

This is an example of premiumisation and is not out of place at all in the world of spirits.

Interesting use of the mobile internet in Japan to promote Kirin Beer. Linking in with GPS and mobile maps, Kirin delivered an ad message and flagged the nearest bars that stocked their product.

This is a great idea from The Whisky Channel.

A place for whisky enthusiasts to share their thoughts, feelings, knowledge and passion for their favourite types of whisky.

Visit wiskipedia here.

Stunning ads from BBDO Germany for Pepsi

From The Coolhunter in Australia:


"Forget about wandering through an art gallery and wondering if you’re the only one who has no idea what anything means. Hannes Broecker has brilliantly invited the cultural elite to grab a glass at an exhibition in Dresden, Germany, and drink away the art.



Regardless of what we do or do not understand about art, we can all agree, it stimulates our senses. Broecker has aroused our sense of taste (not to mention eliminated the need of elbowing our way to the bar) by hanging flat, glass containers with a variety of cocktails in the exhibition space. As the night progressed, the levels of the multi-coloured infusions diminished. By the end of the event, the art, itself, ran dry, and empty drinking glasses were returned to where they were originally placed. By Andrew J Wiener."



Thumbs up to Sally for finding this.

Molson have been forced to pull a University targeted Facebook campaign after accusations that it was promoting irresponsible drinking. Think this is a good example of the difficulties of promoting alcohol using social media and UGC.

More here:
http://www.nickburcher.com/2007/11/molson-pulls-canadian-nation-student.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com

From Dgital Hive

"On a recent transcontinental flight I was catching up on recent issues of the New Yorker and discovered a very interesting article by Malcolm Gladwell in the November 12th issue.

We've all heard about criminal profiling - the process of using factoids about an unknown criminal to get into the offender's mind and motivation in order to capture him or her. I'm interested in profiling because it's so often been likened to account planning (interestingly, an APG conference about 10 years ago had a leading criminal profiler as a guest presenter).

Gladwell's article is a fascinating read for anyone who likes puzzles and problem solving. It was particularly interesting to me because it debunks the credibility of the long-worshiped craft of profiling - and therefore raises some issues about how we planners pursue our craft.

He reveals: "In the mid-nineties, the British Home Office analyzed a hundred and eighty-four crimes, to see how many times profiles led to the arrest of a criminal. The profile worked in five of those cases. That's just 2.7 per cent." Clearly profiling has gotten more credit than it's due.

He cites a number of specific failings of profilers' typical techniques. First off - vagueness which masks a lack of logic and rigor. He writes about a number of investigations where the profile - compiled by an "expert" - was ill-defined, and outright wrong, in part because the profiler relied too heavily upon intuition rather than facts.

A key driver for error: incorrectly ascribing motivation to action. He quotes Brent Turvey, a forensic scientist who has been highly critical of the FBI's approach: "The fact is that different offenders can exhibit the same behaviors for completely different reasons. You've got a rapist who attacks a woman in the park and pulls her shirt up over her face. Why? What does that mean? There are ten different things it could mean. It could mean he doesn't want to see her. It could mean he doesn't want her to see him. It could mean he wants to see her breasts, he wants to imagine someone else, he wants to incapacitate her arms—all of those are possibilities. You can't just look at one behavior in isolation."

Unlike criminal profilers, we planners aren't solving crimes, and our role is seldom a matter of life and death. And it doesn't inspire Big Ideas to quote facts - using our imaginations and being playful help us to inspire the team. But we need to strike the right balance of inspiration and information. So we have something to learn here.

First off, rigor is critical. We can't just pontificate and make stuff up, we must study consumers to truly understand why they do what they do. Second, we need to be careful when assuming what rationale is driving a behavior; that's why we blended behavior and attitude in our recent WebDotDigitas work. Finally, we need to constantly track how successfully our impressions of consumer motivation translate into in-market results - and continually improve our approaches. This means paying attention to measurement results and thinking about how we can use them to improve the work."


Download the Gladwell article here.

From Tom Fishbourne's blog

"Over Thanksgiving 2003, Jones Soda boldly went where no holiday pack had gone before, with a limited edition Turkey & Gravy soda. Delicious. They produced just 6,000 bottles, only offered it online, and sold out in a couple hours. A few days later, bidding on eBay was up to $63 for a two bottle set. Along the way, they scored a slew of free publicity. Not bad for the cost of 6,000 bottle-run.

They've followed that up every year since, and just announced two Christmukkah packs. Their Chanukah pack features Chocolate Coins, Applesauce, Latke, and Jelly Doughnut sodas. Their Christmas pack features Christmas Ham, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog, and Sugar Plum sodas.

The next time someone tells you your idea is "polarizing", just point them to Jones. To compete in the cola wars, they have to be polarizing. Yes, that means some hate it. But, it also means that some love it rampantly (just look at all of the Jones stuff on eBay). What they can't be is ordinary.

I love seeing ways that Davids successfully compete against Goliaths. Another cool thing Jones does is make all of their labels from random pictures that fans have sent in. They've had 748,578 photos posted by consumers so far, most available on their gallery. And you can bet that when your picture is chosen, you tell everybody you know. Really smart."

Great video from Herve This, the daddy of molecular mixology. Via Coolhunting.

From BBH.

From Wooster Collective:

Again from PSFK:

"Although obvious to anyone who is a minority, a new study might be a news flash for some brands that target African Americans.

Pew Research and NPR conducted a study that found 37 percent of African Americans now agree that it is no longer appropriate to think of black people as a single race – a sentiment that’s stronger among young black people, ages 18-29. The split in the black race comes down to a matter of values, according to the poll.

The study also revealed two interesting facts: an overwhelming majority of African Americans think the hip-hop industry is detrimental to black America. And that young black people are the most upset about the way black Americans are portrayed on television and in the movies. I would throw “advertising” in the mix, but that’s just me.

NPR: Redefining What It Means to Be Black in America"

From PSFK

"Seen at Euston station- finally London gets on board with digital advertising displays. (excuse the poor quality and shoddy camera work- was best i could do!) We hope to see a lot more of these popping up soon - a prime opportunity for branded utility to enhance the travel experience."

Exclusif party on Flickr

What a great idea from the Scotch Blog

"Attendees of the Glasgow Whisky Live will have the chance to participate in one of the best the best whisky marketing stunt in a long time.

What is a "Whisky Amnesty"?

The same idea behind a gun amnesty - something that is unfortunately a common occurrence here in America, whereby you turn in your illegal firearm and all is forgiven.

But this one is different and much better - it's like turning in a hand gun and getting a bazooka in return.

Got a bottle of some horrible Vodka? Crappy Blend left to you by a dead relative? Nasty Rum you picked up in Belize? Something unidentifiable you picked up in Bulgaria and are afraid to drink?

Turn it in and Highland Park will give you a bottle of their 18 year old in exchange.*

Jason Craig, Highland Park's Global Brand Controller, tells me:

"To be able to host a Whisky Amnesty in Scotland is both exciting and an honour, as never before has an event ever been run like this within the whisky industry.

Highland Park 18 years old is a multi award winning single malt which we have wanted to showcase as much as possible and what better way to do this than to give whisky lovers the chance to enjoy it for themselves. Over 140 people have already registered to take part so we know it is going to be very popular on the day."

From the ever excellent NotCot:

"Right Gin ~ seems to have done branding the right way… with a old style classic crest composed of everything from Stags “symbols of strength and fortitude that challenge the status quo”, Socrates “the omnipresent all-knowing fly-on-the-wall”, Black “Sophistication & Authority”, Crown “symbol of our high hope to conquer the world”, a motto - Est Unus Modus Verus - “There is a right way”… and those are only some of my favorite elements of their crest, see below for screenshots breaking down every aspect of their crest.

As for the gin itself, i have no idea how it tastes, but reading its intriguing history on their site had made me curious to find some… after all anything made by such precise image controlling perfectionists that hated the taste of gins that came before must be worth a try… also on fun details… they have a “What’s your pleasure” section of their site that helps you make your ideal drink… but doesn’t offer your usual options, under Pixie Dust, you can choose from options like Pinch of Lust, Bucket of Revenge, Thimble of Envy, etc! [sidenote: does it drive anyone else nuts that instead of pretending to paperclip the picture up there, they put a paperclip sitting above it?]"



Looks really cool... and I love the fact that another booze brand thinks the idea of a crest is a good idea...

From Alt Japan via Boing Boing:

"For relaxing times... Make it Suntory time, with these amazing Japanese whiskey commercials from the '80s. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.



Now they start getting weirder. This one's a circus sideshow, complete with a midget dressed like an angel, a corpulent fire-eater and a knife-thrower hurling blades into a volume of Rimbaud. It's downright Lynchian. This is what the inside of your head looks like after a couple of Suntory Royal highballs."

From Sybarites

"Dior and Château d’Yquem (Both LVMH affiliated companies) have announced their collaboration on a anti aging cream together. The cream will utilize the sap from the vine shoots of the sauvignon grapes from the Château d’Yquem. Ten molecules are then extracted from the sap, these molecules have both anti-oxidizing and regenerating properties. The purpose of the cream is very ironic due to the fact that Château d’Yquem harvests their grapes after they begin to rot thus incurring the Botrytis fungus."

As found on Not Cot today. The Macallan's 55 year old whisky looks amazing in its Lalique decanter.

More detailed coverage appears on Sybarites

"The Macallan have launched their second decanter made in association with Lalique, it contains a unique 55 year old single malt whisky. The Lalique decanter is made from Lalique crystal and features a bottle stopper shaped like the Lalique Tiara perfume’s bottle stopper but is colored the same dark amber as The Macallan single malt contained within the decanter. Only four hundred and twenty decanter’s will be made and available through The Macallan’s distributers."

Great idea from Veuve Cliquot and Porsche Design to create the ideal storage unit for Veuve Clicquot champagne. Bound to generate talkability for both Porshce and Veuve.

They have offered people the chance to win one by submitting the three people you'd like to share a bottle of champagne with. Probably a good way of doing a bit of casual research too.



From Cool Hunting:

"Champagne house Veuve Clicquot today launched Vertical Limit by Porsche Design Studio, a stainless steel cellar tower of superb design (at right, click on image for enlarged view). Measuring over six feet tall, it holds 12 magnums of Clicquot's most prized vintages and only 15 were made worldwide. In celebration of this special release Cool Hunting is giving away your choice of two potential prizes. What do you want? A pair of rare vintage Veuve Clicquot champagnes (1988 and a 1985 Rosé) encased in the Pablo Reinoso Cellar Box (below left) OR Veuve Clicquot's limited edition La Grande Dame 1996 vintage with special Emilio Pucci casing (below right). La Grande Dame is Veuve Clicquot's Haute Couture Vintage Champagne.

Each Vertical Limit is fully handmade and each of the 12 vintages are housed in its own compartment with the temperature set at a constant 12 degrees celsius—ideal for tasting and the same climate as the Veuve Clicquot cellars in Reims, France. Of the 15 produced worldwide only two will make it stateside and they will be showcased at the Porsche Design Stores in New York and Los Angeles during the month of November. Each cellar containing the 12 vintages is approximately $70,000."