If a pricey blended whiskey can make a terrific ad, why can’t wine?
Crown Royal – once a whiskey for the aging wine demographic – has made surprising inroads with younger consumers. Why surprising? The basic, 750-ml bottle costs $25, which we’re told is more than they want to spend on wine.
So how has Crown Royal done this? With ads like this 2018 effort, which strikes me as funny and unpretentious in a way that almost no wine advertising has managed. Plus, it shows young people having fun without an adult looking on to grant permission. (Since the ad is about alcohol, you’ll need to sign in to YouTube to see it.)
Compare it to this Bread & Butter Wines ad, which tries desperately hard for the same vibe, but can’t help itself and includes an adult lecturing about wine. Because, of course, with wine, we have to tell young people what to do.
Trust me, wine business. Young people know how to drink; the last thing they need is an adult explaining how to do it. Would that wine figures that out before it’s too late.
Video courtesy of Ben Vereen via YouTube
More about TV wine ads:
• TV wine ads: When in doubt, use sex
• The history of wine advertising and reaching younger consumers
• TV wine ad update: Does Stella Rosa’s sweet fizzy red commercial do what Big Wine can’t?