TV wine ads: When in doubt, use sex

Maybe sex is the answer to wine’s demographic problem

Regular readers here know the abysmal state of wine advertising, which has been documented on the blog many times. Having said that, the Wine Curmudgeon wonders if this almost 40-year-old ad wouldn’t solve many of wine’s marketing problems.

In a word, sex.

This ad, for a long-gone French white of middling quality called Valbon, isn’t subtle. Which, if nothing else, is a relief given the rest of the wine ads we’ve looked at over the years. Drink this, says the woman, and your sex life will improve tremendously: “Now, I play grown-up games.”

How’s that for a message for the viewer to take away?

Also note the woman’s age – the demographic that isn’t much interested in wine any more. Seriously – change her hairstyle, make the dress a littler more current, and do we have something here to work with?