Beer Advertisements That Appeal To Emotion

As I've mentioned before, I'm currently taking a class on marketing in the beer industry and I wanted to share this. We've been talking about different ways that companies can get and hold the attention of the consumer and how that can change over time and space. For example, we no longer see the 'beer jingle' commercial, which was very popular in the 50's and 60's. It can be argued that sex always sells, but that can also become so formulaic that it just turns people off and advertisers have to keep clever and keep appealing to their audience if they want to remain relevant.

Budweiser has been around for a very long time. It can be hard to keep fresh when you've seemingly done it all and conquered the beer world. I'd go as far as to say that they've got the funny and sexy commercials down to a science. In the past couple of years, however, their big Super Bowl ads have turned it around and appealed to peoples sentimental emotions. They've been doing commercials with Clydesdale horses forever, which do make people go, 'Aw', however, they've now introduced a puppy into the mix.

Maybe this advertisement doesn't make you want to run out and buy a Budweiser or maybe it does. But it's got to make you feel at least a little warm and fuzzy on the inside. I'll admit, I teared up just a little.

Beer Tourism: Chodovar Beer Spa

There is a magical place in the western part of the Czech Republic called Chodova Plana and it is home to one of the oldest beer spas in the world.

Yes, beer spas are a thing in the Czech Republic because they are smart and awesome while we are super lame and bathe in stupid old water!

This wonderful utopia is not only a spa but also home to the brewery, Chodovar, as well as a hotel and two restaurants. You don't ever have to leave for anything!!!!!!!!!! Apparently, there is some good hiking and biking trails in the area (the Cheb region), but who cares about that?

The history of brewing in the area goes back to the 12th century when a dog named Albi came across a spring of some magically delicious mineral water. Immediately beer was brewed with the soft water and the people rejoiced! The official start date of the brewery is 1573, however, when the Sliks family began operations.

The brewery has had it's ups and downs..... 450 years will do that to you... but they continue to thrive today. They now produce over 90, 000 hectolitres of beer a year!

The beer bath itself is a mix of the mineral water, beer, grains and herbs and is supposedly all very beneficial to your health.

Here's the link to the spa: http://www.chodovar.cz/id216en-beer-wellness-land.htm

And here's a link to the tourist website that will guide you through this and other beer tour fun in the wonderful Czech Republic: http://www.praguebeergarden.com/czech-tours/post/beer-spa-chodovar

Na zdravi!

Doc Brown's Belgian Blonde Experiment!!!

So, I brewed my first beer of the new year the other day. I decided that soon I'll be in the mood for something 'spring like', so I decided on a Belgian Blonde with two different yeast strains. I put Wyeast Trappist in one carboy and Wyeast Belgian Saison in the other.

Its base is Pilsen plus a bit of aromatic malt and some wheat. I hopped it with some Hallertau and tada! The Belgian Saison is fermenting away nice and steady, however, the Trappist got a little saucy on me and went blahhhhhhh grrrllllllll all over the damn place. So, I had to make a new blow-off situation to accommodate its attitude!

And since this is the first brew of 2015 (and the future in Back to the Future), I am calling it Doc Brown's Belgian Blonde Experiment!

The Beer Jingle

This week for my Beer Marketing class, I  thought I'd post up a series of old timey beer ads that feature the 'beer jingle' and animation. These types of commercials were clearly popular in the 1950's and 1960's. We don't see anything like this in today's beer advertisements.... Would you like to see this type of 'animation jingle commercial' come back into popularity? Perhaps minus the blatant sexism?

Carling's:

Pabst Blue Ribbon:

And one more non-animated 'sexist dinner party' jingle commercial from Schlitz:

Whale Testicles Beer, you say? Can I Get Pregnant From This?

Icelandic microbrewery, Stedji  is introducing a beer made with fin whale testicles, which are smoked in sheep feces. The beer is being released to celebrate the month-long celebration of Thorri, which is in honour of the Norse god, Thor. This whale testicle beer is called Hvalur 2, which is a sequel to last year's Hvalur 1, which was made with milled fin whale bones.

Both these beers are incredibly controversial and have sparked tons of outrage from various animal rights organizations. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has stated that these beers are nothing but a "cheap marketing ploy" and that this endangers an already endangered species.

Stedji claims that these beers are being made in the tradition of their Viking ancestors, who were no strangers to eating testicles.... what do you think?

Here is a link to the brewery's website and a link to a USA Today article discussing the controversy surrounding the beer:

http://www.stedji.com/hvalur-1-2.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/13/iceland-brewery-whale-testicle-beer/21714213/

Non-Commercial Beer Commercial

I think most people can agree that there is a general formula to beer commercials.... young people in the outdoors playing Frisbee, girls in bikinis on jet skis, attractive people having a way better time at the bar than you ever do.... and so on..... So, I thought I'd post one of my favourite beer ads in recent memory that takes a bit of a different approach. 

Here is an unconventional beer ad for New Castle Brown Ale that aired during last year's Super Bowl featuring Anna Kendrick complaining that she got screwed over for the endorsement. Does it do a good job selling the product or is it just a funny commercial?

Last Semester Kick Off!

Well, I've been off on Christmas vacation the last month or so and haven't had much opportunity or reason to update the old blog. Also, I read the entire Hunger Games series, which took up a fair bit of my time :)

I did of course take home a ton of beers that I brewed over the last four months for Christmas presents and such.... I brought back our Olds College Wet Hopped Pale Ale as well as my own Babcia's Best Bitter, Heartbreak Porter, Highway 2 IPA, and Ginger Beer #2.

Packing up the car to go home. And yes, that is a full carboy of IPA in the back seat (driving beer up and down the highway really gives it just the right amount of oxidation, ya know).

And here is the Christmas Eve sampling of many beers.

A new semester, however, spells new blog entry requirements for courses I'm in. This time around I'll be blogging at least once a week about various issues around beer marketing and things going on around the industry in general. I'll also be offering my own musing on those subjects as well as keeping a bit of a log of the things I'm brewing through the semester.

So, Happy New Year and keep on keeping up with Lisa's last 4 months in Olds, Alberta.