Southern Comfort summer ad campaign celebrates spirit of New Orleans
Southern Comfort has launched a cinema ad campaign aimed at celebrating the distinct history of the drink’s birthplace, New Orleans.
The What is Southern Comfort? TV spot which has launched nationally in cinema chains including Moonlight Cinemas, compares the history and culture of New Orleans to the uniqueness of the drink.
It includes images and illustrations of traditional New Orleans jazz musicians and modern day street corners.
I was at a Moonlight Cinema screening the other day (ironically enough for The Hangover), and saw this ad. My girlfriend and I thought it was actually quite naff – even though as a self-confessed ‘young person’ I’m well aware of Southern Comfort’s classy/cool urban image (and to some degree the brand’s history).
Isn’t it a little dangerous for a company to be associating itself so explicitly with an idealised image of New Orleans – a city and region which, through events following Hurricane Katrina, stands as a testament to inequality, ineptitude and inaction on the part of the US government? If I was a brand, I’d stay as far away from that potential minefield as possible. And surely “they broke the mold when they made New Orleans” is just asking for outrage. Breaking levees, et cetera.
But hey, maybe I’m overestimating the potential of PC advocates to take offence at anything. Maybe I’m part of the problem!
Total poo. Appalling execution. Shallow as………. Where were the agency grown-ups when this was presented?
Did someone hack mumbrella and post this PR release?
“But hey, maybe I’m overestimating the potential of PC advocates to take offence at anything. Maybe I’m part of the problem!”
-Yes you are def part of the problem. (edited)
Wow, El G. Very eloquent.
You don’t happen to have a vested interest in this campaign, do you?
Why use Cinema (other than for its high production delivery) as your lead media channel?
Cant remember the last time I went to the movies then decided to go via the bottle-o on the way home.
Normally cinema = quiet night in/out. Maybe just me!
hammer – the reasons one would use moonlight would be totally different to using a val morgan or similar ‘theatrical’ cinema ad company.
moonlight is generally dressed up as a brand activation or experiential initiative.
Dear Campbell.
No I dont, I work in TV.
I have a passionate hate for political correct bullshit however.
El G – It’s taking things a bit far to call me a c**ksucker then, no? If you read my comment you’ll see I’m considering the danger of overly-PC advocates taking offence to the ad. I certainly don’t consider myself PC in the slightest – in fact I dislike it with a passion not unlike yours – but I like to think I’m smart enough to understand when others might be.
When you’re a brand trying new things and trying to make a name for yourself, I think (from an entirely amateur viewpoint) it’s important not to associate yourself with something questionable. Case in point – Toyota’s recent problem with their social media comp.
Again – people like you are the problem.
YOu are so afraid of what some overly offended idiot may have to say that you advocate self censorship. THAT is the problem.
There will always be idiots complaining about everything.
The important part is to stand up for what’s right and tell them to go f***k themselves.
And in the Toyota case – you dont have to be overly sensitive to find that offensive.
That crossed the line by far.
On another note – what the hell is wrong with people on sites like this one?
I heard about the tall poppy syndrome in Australia but I had no idea it was this bad, and nowhere is it more evident than in industry blogs like this one.
-Look at the first comment by “hangover” for example. He/she is obviously jealous.
This is not poo by a long shot. It s not the best campaign ever but its certainly not bad either. It is starting to make sense why the Australian advertising industry produces ads that are not as good as the rest of the world – its populated by assholes.
I’m not advocating self-censorship, I’m advocating smart advertising. Any brand that wants to survive (and don’t suggest a brand can sucessfully “stand up for what’s right and tell them to go f***k themselves” without destroying itself) needs to be mindful of perceived issues, moral panic or otherwise.
To not consider this is irresponsible business practice.
Sure, the Toyota shit-storm of objectification of women blah blah blah is orders of magnitude worse than Southern Comfort being associated with a government debacle/aid crisis, but I think you’ve got rose coloured glasses on if you don’t see how idiots getting offended could be bad for a company’s image.
Shame the drink tastes like crap!
At the heart of it, it doesn’t actually answer its own question…what is Southern Comfort? Is is a bourbon, whisky, rum??? Their biggest brand issues and that of many of other brands like them isn’t even remotely addressed.
They need to resolve the need base before they start trying to get into an emotional space.
I just love it when the credits are longer than the PR content. 25 names … 32 seconds …
Pity the tea-lady (apologies for being politcally incorrect) didn’t get a mention. It’s also odd that the media placement didn’t get a run either … nah … doesn’t matter if / where / when the target sees the ad – what WAS I thinking.
P.S. Can you add me into the credits as follows:
YouTube Viewer – John Grono
John Grono, can i get a mention too?
Commenter on article that appeared on MuMbrella – GORGAN
why do Australians care about New Orleans again?
Laura:
Cause its cool.
“Sure, the Toyota shit-storm of objectification of women blah blah blah is orders of magnitude worse than Southern Comfort being associated with a government debacle/aid crisis, but I think you’ve got rose coloured glasses on if you don’t see how idiots getting offended could be bad for a company’s image.”
“a city and region which, through events following Hurricane Katrina, stands as a testament to inequality, ineptitude and inaction on the part of the US government?”
-Do you even know what you are talking about?
First of all, in that case we cant make ads in any other American city either, especially NY after 9/11 (maybe you will upset Arabs, firemen or even Leprechauns). Secondly, it was not the American government that screwed up. In the U.S, relief work is made by the state locally, not by the federal government.
There is so much stupidity in your posts there is probably no point even having this discussion.
Your whole argument reminds me of this idiot we had complaining about an ad once because there was an Asian kid in the ad. The person complaining felt it was racist to have Asians in the ad. I think not having Asians is more racist but with retards like that you cant really argue.
Wow, if you think the federal government didn’t have any stake in the relief effort after the hurricane, you’re even more clueless than I originally gave you credit for.
I think the source of your idiocy, though, is the fact you think that I actually hold these views. You don’t want to have this discussion? Not a problem.
Dear Campbell.
I did not say that they do not have a stake.
What I said was that it is not their responsibility.
In America, disaster relief is a state issue, not a federal issue. Unless of course the disaster zone spans across more than one state. Bush was given a lot of undeserved crap by foreign media for not doing enough. He did step in eventually, but only after realizing that the state government was quite useless at their job.
“I think the source of your idiocy, though, is the fact you think that I actually hold these views. You don’t want to have this discussion? Not a problem.”
I know you dont hold those views. (edited by Mumbrella for offense)
-You advocate acting on it anyway.