October 7 2011
Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…
Words aren’t enough
I give to thee…the worst wine ad of all-time and that’s without delving into the ponderous name of the wine or, why, inexplicably, the back of the laptop in the photo has a big sticker for Ass Kisser ales…
…In the main visual, three people are huddled around the boss giving him “Ass Kisser” wine…Isn’t the point of being a brown-noser to do it subtly? Who randomly gifts their boss right before their employee review?
Even if you view this ad as schlocky hipster irony, it’s still bad and makes you wonder if the advertising sales guy at Wine Enthusiast couldn’t do a solid for his client and suggest creative that, well, actually makes sense.
Or, maybe being horrible was the plan – like a movie that becomes a cult hit a decade hence…so bad that it becomes a lofty ideal for bad, enjoying a following because of its campy nature.
Bad Week for Eric Asimov?
On both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, Eric Asimov, the New York Times chief wine critic was taken to task for different reasons by Matt Kramer at Winespectator.com and Steve Heimoff at his blog of the same name.
This is interesting because wine writers of a certain stature very carefully call their shots amongst their peers.
Normally the shots are fired up (Parker) or down (bloggers), but usually never sideways amongst writers in the same strata.
To watch Asimov, as seemingly decent of a guy as you’ll find, called onto the rug by two notable wine writers, to me, speaks to something much bigger.
With Parker stepping aside and Antonio Galloni receiving glancing admiration for hitting a stand-up triple by dint of his current position at the Wine Advocate, at the same time that the wheat and chaff are separating with wine bloggers, somebody has to step into the fray as a public foil for other wine writers to target.
Unwittingly, it might be Asimov for reasons entirely opposite of Parker’s hegemony. Asimov’s palate for wine seems food-friendly and balanced; he takes an egalitarian approach to wine for the people without pretense and he doesn’t score wines.
In other words, Asimov is bizarro Superman to Parker’s swashbuckling empiricism and, perhaps, even a greater danger to the Ivory Tower of legacy wine media than the mere jealousy that passed for poking at Parker.
Just a thought…
It’s all about the story
The wine business has always been excellent at storytelling. Virtually every winery has their origin story and that of their dirt down pat, even if not very compelling.
So, it is with interest that I’ve been watching Facebook’s recent changes keeping in mind that founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized emotional resonance, narrative and storytelling – factors that extend well beyond consumers using Facebook to “Tell the story of their life,” as Zuckerberg noted. This will be inclusive of the brands that use Facebook for engagement, as well.
I was further intrigued after reading parallel news reports that Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), is singing the same song.
He notes in an article in Advertising Age, “Technology innovations are irrelevant to the future of advertising and marketing unless a more fundamental activity is understood, honored and advanced: the craft of storytelling.”
A quick Google search for “Mark Zuckerberg F8 Keynote” and “Randall Rothenberg MIXX Keynote” will yield a number of stories all occurring in September. There’s no question about Facebook’s influence and the IAB is the thought-leader for digital advertising. Between the two of them, they present an imposing shadow of influence on digital marketing.
If I were a winery with an understanding that digital marketing is a tsunami of change that is important, I might start revisiting my winery story for some fine-tuning…
Two books that I recommend to bone-up on the elements of good business storytelling are: The Story Factor and Made to Stick.
On Sweet Wines
In an article this week from the San Francisco Chronicle called “Beginner drinkers get a crush on sweet red wines,” E.&J. Gallo VP of Marketing, Stephanie Gallo, noted: “There is a major shift going on in the U.S. wine drinking culture. First, we noticed that regional sweet red blends were doing particularly well in Indiana, Texas and North Carolina. Second, our consumers were asking if we produced a sweet red wine after tasting our Moscato at events.”
Good Grape readers had the scoop on this months ago when I wrote:
How Sweet it is – The Growing Sweet Wine Trend in early October, 2010
And
Move over Moscato and Make Way for Sweet Reds in February of this year
Just saying…
Posted in, Free Run: Field Notes From a Wine Life. Permalink | Comments (14) |
Jeff,
You were way ahead of the curve on sweet reds. America has always had a sweetish tooth for popular, affordable wines; the wines change but the taste-profile preference is part of our culture.
As for Eric Asimov drawing (un)friendly fire for the recent column, I am all for wine mags and critics cross-talking. THis is real life, after all. The era of each “authority” forging ahead as if no others exist are over. I’ve always admired how British writers routinely refer to and offer opinions on peers. Maybe we can look forward to more open debate on ratings, alcohol levels, etc.
And as for the Ass Kisser ad, you say it ran in Wine Enthusiast? Perhaps it’s just a house ad…
I have seen the same thing happening here in Mass. There is a great little winery on MV called Chicama Vineyards, it’s mainly known for Shiraz. When I was touring there earlier this year, they explained they were adding more dessert wines to their list because they were getting several requests for a moscato type of wine only in red. The trend is definitely getting around.
I really do not give a Rat’s A$$ what numeric they decide to drop…maybe I would care more if they have a good sense of their own standard deviation, and publish it.
If everyone is placing on a fit hat, felt great. It is also cheap. What about football fans? Such as instructor in Alabama and Dallas Cowboys Tom Landry, may possibly trigger very much more or locate hats, like all contribute for that advertising of Madison Avenue.
You were way ahead of the curve on sweet reds. America has always had a sweetish tooth for popular, affordable wines; the wines change but the taste-profile preference is part of our culture.
I like my wine writers to write about wine, and I like wine critics to help me expand the way that I think about wine.
If you’re a wine lover, you should also know that cooling system and temperature in your stock area should be monitored.
This wonderful Temparnillo-based Spanish wine comes from one of the countries oldest wineries. The Rioja has dark cherry and spice galore. While most consumers have enjoyed Spanish wines at the $10-$15 price point, this Reserva will illustrate the bold and beautiful balanced palate pleaser these wines can become. The Reserva bottling consistently scores 89-91 points from the major print wine publications.
This is really my very first time here, great looking blog. I discovered so many interesting things inside your blog especially its discussion.
I am happy to find so many useful information here in the post, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing protective clothing
Chicama Vineyards, it’s mainly known for Shiraz. When I was touring there earlier this year, they explained they were adding more dessert wines to their list because they were getting several requests for a moscato type
To me, a wine bottle is a blank canvas that can either inspire in its creativity or repel in its insipidness. While I have a reasonably conservative approach to the kinds of wine I want to drink relative to technological intervention, I am unabashedly progressive when it comes to the kind of wine labels that appeal to me.
In an attention-deficit, social media-impacted, offline/online hybrid world of information consumption with mobile and tablets proliferating, in order to break through to (and ultimately assist) the consumer, the value of the PR professional, an oft neglected part of the marketing hierarchy, in reaching out and facilitating the telling of a winery’s story seems to be more important than ever.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License
Design by The Blog Studio
Print
Jeff,
You may be right about Asimov as a foil, since working outside the standard box in a high profile arena, certainly can pose a threat to content delivery ‘standards’ which the Critics have built their businesses on. Sure there is a place for scoring in the whole scheme of things…when I parse a spreadsheet trying to roughly analyze QPR for deeper research.
However, I like my wine writers to write about wine, and I like wine critics to help me expand the way that I think about wine. I really do not give a Rat’s A$$ what numeric they decide to drop…maybe I would care more if they have a good sense of their own standard deviation, and publish it.
Critics criticizing critics over how they provide criticism? Are we running out of wine subjects to communicate about?
Cheers.