More Craft Commercials

My general rule is if it has a commercial don't buy it.

 

It might make sense for a craft brewery to target a specific type of ad to the general public. The goal would be to get consumers over the first few hurdles that stand in the way of enjoying craft beer:
1) The craft aisle is overwhelming to someone not familiar with all the brands (like me, once).
2) Some beers are not approachable to the uninitiated. Imagine picking up Maximus and not knowing what an IPA is.
3) Craft beer is generally more expensive, with the cheaper end being comparable to macro imports.

So basically, an ad targeting the general beer drinking population that says "Try Brewer X, the one with the picture of Y on the front. Our flagship beer Z is easy to drink, but so flavorful so you'll find it worth a few extra cents."

 

They also had a Fat Tire commercial that ran on national broadcast TV a couple years ago.

 

I don't think it's accurate that a mass distributed product can't be tasty. Just, that happens to be the case for beer. Most good craft breweries have more demand than supply so they have no reason to advertise. We do the advertising for them.

Sam Adams has some delicious beers and it's mass distributed. Its recent commercials have been up their own ass, of course. I can't imagine they're gaining business based on those ads. Those ads seem directed toward folks like us who already know it exists and already have formed an opinion about them.

 

Soooo...you don't use any products that advertise, correct?

 

Not really sure how progressive this ad is - selling beer using bikini-clad women seems to be about appealing to fairly standard male fantasies, which is a pretty conservative approach for an ad IMO.

 

Owing to kerfuffle it caused a few years back, that one was the first ad that came to mind. But I agree with what @jzeilinger wrote; Older or traditional breweries* (especially those from parochial areas) don't take this approach, however safe and stereotypical it might seem in the broader market.

Craft Beer drinkers have always struck me as being individualistic and free-thinking people by nature. People who brook easy pigeonholing and always seek out uncommon, superior-quality experiences (food, beverage, etc.) and who generally won't react positively to the notion of being "advertised to" -- especially not when it comes to a typical mass-market style beer ad.

*Speaking of which, I almost forgot to link Richard Crouser's series of radio spots for August Schell. They hit the spot for the central Minnesota market of the 1970s, being funny and a little bit corny -- just like most Minnesotans.

 

Ranger is one of my favorite IPAs

 

dont need them word of mouth is still strong plus save the money on marketing add it to the beer expansion etc...

 

Yes... but I must split hairs... breweries make wort. Yeast makes beer. But I agree with your point.

 

Not having ads rammed into my brain everywhere I turn is one of the highlights of craft beer. Products that don't need to be propped up by bullshit and jokes, thank you. Word of mouth/of forum post will do.

 

I don't watch much TV, but when I do, I see commercials for Coke, Carnival Cruises, BMWs, Budweiser, Lysol, Lays potato chips, etc., etc. I use/buy none of these. There's no doubt that some of the products I buy are likely to advertise on TV. I'm probably just not seeing the commercials. My comment was a bit toungue in cheek. Nevertheless, I actually wouldn't be surprised if, after watching a couple of hours of television, I wouldn't see a single commercial advertising a product that I have bought recently.

 

It's unusual for craft brewers to sink money into video advertisements, the beer will sell itself on merit and word of mouth, good thing no females enjoy craft beer.

 

I think it was meant to be a parody of the macro "bikini-clad women" commercial genre.

 

I suspect you are right, but on what level? I think the parody aspect comes from the belch, not the cheesecake. Sure, it makes fun, but does it become another aspect of the thing it ridicules? I think it might.