"An adventure is a dangerous experience that leaves you with an interesting story to tell, if you survive." --Michael Banks
We all like to think we have a sense of adventure. The confidence to do extraordinary things, to push the envelope. Wikipedia says this of adventurers: # One whose travels are unusual and often exotic, though not so unique as to qualify as exploration. # One who lives by their wits. # One who takes part in a risky or speculative course of action for profit or position
Mitchell Hedges The prototypical adventurer, and some say prototype for Indiana Jones, Hedges told of his adventures fighting savages, discovering lost cities, fighting jaguars, etc, all done while smoking his pipe. Some of his stories might be tall tales, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story.? Read more about him here:
It's always nice to see ordinary people doing the extraordinary. Here, some 1980s swashbuckling corporate pirates...
The Caribbean has proved a boon for marketing people in the last few years. Many brands, with no obvious association with the Caribbean have used it's easygoing approach to market their products. Here's a selection of a few: Malibu Malibu already feels tropical. It exploits the Caribbean by making the comparison between the Caribbean and our 'rat-race lives'. The message - take a slug of easy-going Caribbean spirit.
Red Stripe The beer from Jamaica. It's confident in its Caribbean credentials, and keeps it on the back foot in these ads:
Lilt The totally tropical taste, at some point realised it's Caribbean positioning might now work for todays cynical consumers, so in these updated ads, it puts the Caribbean into a British context. Ads from Mother, featuring lovable Caribbean grannies...
HISTORY LESSON Rum is one of the most romantic spirits. Made largely in the West Indies, it was served on British Navy ships and pirate ships alike was traded for slaves, banned in America on several occasions, is used in Jamaica to ward off evil spirits, and in St Lucia, is mixed with peanuts to form a popular aphrodisiac, Nuts'n'Rum. It has been known by various names, from Kill-Devil, to Barbados Water , Splice the Main Brace, The Pirate's Drink, and Nelson's Blood. [Apparently, when Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, and his body taken to England preserved in a barrel of rum, sailors would take an occasional nip, quite literally drinking Nelsons blood.]
The oldest rum distillery (Mount Gay, Barbados, established 1703) is older than the oldest whisky distillery (Strathisla, Chivas distillery, established 1786). Generally, to be considered rum, it has to be distilled in a place where sugar cane is grown. It is made either from molasses, or cane juice, from which it gets its distinctive flavour. Other additional flavourings come from it's ageing in oak barrels, in much the same way whisky does.
If you want to find out more, you can download 'rum lessons' from the excellent 'Rum Unversity' at this link.
COMPETITOR SET 'Golden rum' is the fastest growing spirits category in the UK. It also competes with party whiskys and vodkas. Here are a few of the leading competitors, and their creative communication strategies.
RUMS Sailor Jerry This brand was a new one on me, but currently doing well in the golden rums market. Great name, great look, clearly going for a more sophisticated outlook. They're named after legendary tattoo artist Sailor Jerry, and have a 'punk rock' and 'true original' positioning. They are running a great competition to win a years supply of rum, by singing the best rendition of The Damned's New Rose. And the best bit? You get to sing, live on stage, with Dave Vanian.
A typical entry
Bacardi In rums, in the UK, it's seemed like a one-horse show for a while, with Bacardi dominating the scene, with it's white rum, which was clearly positioning itself right on the 'category promise' of 'passion' and 'latin'. It's famous 'Latin Quarter' campaign was a success all over the world. relive the magic here; "Last train? Not so bad. Not so bad at all!"
later, it added a touch of irony (not much) with this execution featuring ball-grabbing footballer Vinny Jones
Since 2007 though, Bacardi has been exploring the whole 'mixing' area, with a 'Made to Mix' theme. It focuses on the functional benefit that it's a good mixer, and on dramitizing the mixing Here's a latest installment, 'Bass Bins' from Alex Rutterford, featuring a Bacardi character dancing with a 'cranberry character'. Oh dear...
and here, another earlier example, Assimilate
It also forms a platform for live events, internet radio, etc, where - you guessed it - dj's 'mix up a storm' at specially organized Bacardi nights. Find out more at this link
OTHERS Jack Daniels Jack Daniels, the ultimate rockers drink has struggled with its relationship to music. On the one hand, it has probably the most consistent advertising campaign in history, that emphasizes authenticity. The famous print campaign has been running since 1954,(since 1996 in the UK) and celebrates the real American small town in Tennesee where the whisky is made, and the people who make it. Read more about the campaign here.
However, with so many brands trying to 'claim' music, JD is in an enviable position, and in some countries it really exploits this platform. In the UK, it operates The JD Set, where unsigned bands compete, and the winners receive practical training and exposure to become bigger. Read about it here, or visit the site here.
More recently, it has been seen - ironically enough - on Mad Men, the tv show that depicts the lives of Maddison Avenue ad execs, exactly the kind of 'inauthentic' approach the Jack Daniels campaign has tried to avoid.
