Mike's Hard Looking For More Love

Lemonade is generally considered something for the summertime and even just for picnics, so Mike’s Hard Lemonade, after 14 years on the market, is aiming to inform consumers that there are plenty of other times to drink the stuff, too. The brand’s new campaign features offbeat commercials that are set in traditionally beer-drinking locales and end with the tagline “It’s never not a good time for a Mike’s Lemonade.”

“We’re looking at a traditional beer consumer, which is a natural fit for Mike’s,” Sanjiv Gajiwala, the director of marketing for Mike’s, told The New York Times. The brand has its work cut out for it since research has shown that 21 percent of men “would not want to be seen” holding a fruity malt beverage while only 11 percent of women felt the same way, MSN reports.

The brand will spend between $15 million and $20 million on the campaign, up from its overall 2012 advertising budget of $13.3 million, the Times notes.Continue reading...

Boston Beer Takes a Big Hit

America’s drinkers are putting down their Sam Adams. Its brewer, Boston Beer Co., which has gotten a bit of press recently for putting in a trademark request for Boston Strong 26.2 Brew in the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon, announced its quarterly earnings Wednesday and they were not good. The company earned 51 cents per share in this year’s first quarter, “down almost 9 percent from a year earlier and well below the 62 cents a share expected by analysts,” CNN reports.

That news sent shares of the country’s top craft brewer down almost 11 percent Thursday. Their spot at the top of the heap is hurting them, the company said, as consumers are turning their tongues to other smaller craft brews that are on their way up.Continue reading...

Film: The Expendables 2
Brands/Products Spotted: 5
Standout Placement: Smart Car
Most Memorable Placement (positive): AA-12
Most Memorable Placement (negative): Smart Car
Overall Product Placement Integration Grade (1-10): 2
Comments: The stars, one-liners and action sequences aren't the only clichéd elements of The Expendables 2, which slaughtered the box office commotion for a second straight week. The product placement is just as imaginative and forward-thinking. That is, when it isn't blurred out. Continue reading...

Americans haven’t been able to enjoy over-the-counter Cuban products for decades now and it doesn’t appear that will change anytime soon. That’s bad news for the folks at Pernod, who have been battling to get its Havana Club rum trademark renewed. Unfortunately for them, the U.S. legal system at pretty much every level has said, “No dice.” The most recent blow came from the Supreme Court.

The rum is being made in Cuba by Cubaexport and distributed by France-based Pernod, a loophole the U.S. government doesn’t approve of and so when the Havana Club trademark came due in 2006, the government opted not to renew it, according to Bloomberg. The Cuban Foreign Ministry is not happy. After all, America accounts for 40 percent of the world’s rum intake so it would be nice to be mixed into that financial cocktail.Continue reading...

NASCAR is not only a powerhouse brand, it has forged alliances with many of the world's most recognizable brands to create a co-branded halo. Brands involved in this most American form of motorsport include Budweiser, Crown Royal, Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, and UPS. NASCAR has even slapped its name on branded carwashes in the Chicago area.

Their cars and racing suits decorated in decals both large and small, NASCAR drivers are loyal advertisers for their sponsors as well. Winning drivers routinely thank their sponsors in victory lane when giving interviews, and cars are often known by the main sponsor as well as the driver and number.Continue reading...

NASCAR teams have been mostly hurting on the sponsorship front in the past few years. Some teams have had to cut down the number of races it goes to or cars it races due to sponsors dropping out.

But then along comes Crown Royal. The Indiana Business Journal reports that the #1 Canadian whisky in the US (and the world) is in negotiations with Indianapolis Motor Speedway to become the title sponsor of the Brickyard 400 weekend.  

And it’s not for chump change, either. It could be the richest title sponsorship in NASCAR history if the reporter was hearing correctly. The word is that Crown Royal is ready to fork over $1.5 million annually for the honor of being the race’s sponsor.Continue reading...

If Jennifer Aniston wants to learn how to create a viral video, she can look no further than another Jennifer. In the four days since JLo's latest music video was released, On the Floor has blown past 13 million views (6 million on Saturday alone) and more than 36,000 comments on YouTube.

It also continues female pop stars' penchant for product placement in videos by (prominently) showing BMW, Swarovski and Crown Royal prominently.Continue reading...

Drinking Up (Wine) Down Under

Forget the image of the typical Aussie with a big Foster’s in his hand. These days, he’s more likely to be quaffing a glass of wine. According to national Bureau of Statistic figures, beer now makes up just 44% of the alcohol consumed in Australia, down from 76% in the 1960s. Meanwhile, wine consumption is at record highs. But watch, out, wine. Cider consumption is growing at about 15.7% annually, and is now the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage in Australia.Continue reading...