More Adventures in Wine Advertising

Within the canon of good advertising, the laws of, “To sell,” and “To be memorable” exist for noble men and women of character, creativity and marketing acumen to abide with sanctity. Nowhere, however, is there a law that says, “To create confusion.”

Yet, it’s “confusion” that passes for most wine advertising these days.

Regular Good Grape readers know that I like to take the occasional look at wine advertising to find the “memorable,” often times with disappointing results. 

Comedian Patton Oswalt, as quoted in a Paste magazine article, has said, “Pointing out that stuff sucks is not edgy or dangerous anymore.  Everyone knows what sucks. What’s better is to find the stuff that’s amazing and hold it up.”

I agree with him.  But, I’ll start with the next article, though. 

Herewith, a couple of examples of recent print ads from importers or producers that have appeared in major wine-related magazines in the past 60 days (with my commentary).

Ghost Pines

As seen in:  Wine & Spirits

Goat or Gloat?

Ponderous, man.  Ponderous.  The Sub-head says, “Excellence has no boundaries.”  The scant copy says, “Our winemaking philosophy will not be bound by county lines.”

I haven’t the slightest idea what this means.  Fruit is sourced from both Sonoma and Napa?  The winemaker lives in Sonoma, but keeps a mistress in Napa?

Is “Excellence has no boundaries” enough of a sales value proposition to support an advertising campaign, let alone live on as a platitude on the wall of a high school locker room?

I went to the Ghost Pines web site (under construction), and it offers this nugget, “Sonoma spirit, Napa elegance proving that excellence knows no bounds.”

I have no idea what this ad is about, who it might be intended for or what it is supposed to be compelling me to do.  It’s like flipping on an HBO movie 45 minutes into it and realizing that your time is better spent on something that you don’t have to work too hard to figure out, which is what 99% of readers of Wine & Spirits probably did as they flipped the page past this goat of an ad.

J. Lohr

As seen in:  Wine Enthusiast

Goat or Gloat?

This ad represents a new direction for J. Lohr who have been using the same campaign featuring Jerry Lohr and winemaker Jeff Meier for years. 

Unfortunately, it needs work. One of the principal lessons I learned as a student of advertising in Journalism school is to never go “clever.”  Clever is a crutch for those that don’t have a clearly articulated idea.  And, so it is here.

The headline says, “Leave no ‘stone unturned.”  I looked at this ad for three minutes trying to figure out how the headline matched up with the visual.

Ah, upon close inspection, real close inspection, the wine turned upside down in the ice bucket is the J. Lohr “Riverstone” Chardonnay.  I get it, even if it’s like a bad “knock-knock” joke.

If an ad is like conducting a speech to a live audience of 500,000 people and you want to tell a joke, but at least 2/3 of the audience won’t get it, do you still tell the joke?  Of course not, you say something that resonates with as many people as possible.

Not surprisingly, the sub-head of, “Flavor second to none” is a complete non sequitur from the visual and the headline.

Nice striking visual, bad concept.  Overall, a goat of an ad.

Opici Wines

As seen in:  Wine Enthusiast

Goat or Gloat?

Likely the first ad from this longtime importer.  The copy, on the backdrop visual of a pair of rolling dice, says, “Why roll the dice?  Bet on a sure thing.”

I get this ad, but the majority of Wine Enthusiasts’ readers probably don’t.  Wine lovers who are really in tune with the wine world know that the sticker on a bottle of wine from certain importers is a badge of endorsement, indicating quality and thoughtful curation within a portfolio.  Obviously, Opici wants to brand themselves as arbiters of quality and a correlating portfolio.

Unfortunately, most of the wine consuming world doesn’t know what Michael Skurnik wines represents, let along Opici wines.

This ad is a good idea that needs to be substantiated with some copy …  overall not a goat, not anything to gloat about, either.  At least it’s the only ad that will not get a potential intern thrown out of an interview with a good Creative Director.

Seen any good (or bad) wine advertising lately?  Let me know in the comments.