Pernod Ricard’s recent "Responsib'All Day" action mobilized employees on five continents in its second annual day of service dedicated to education about responsible drinking. Its "mentor and messenger" efforts reached 18,000 employees worldwide in major cities including Sydney, Shanghai, New Delhi, Tokyo, Johannesburg and São Paulo, and UK-based staff from subsidiaries the Absolut Company and Premium Wine Brands.

"We have been promoting responsible drinking for more than 30 years. At Responsib'All Day, all of our employees are mobilised to help make things change. As a company, we are resolutely dedicated to strengthening our engagement with public authorities and NGOs to fight inappropriate drinking habits," stated Pernod Ricard CEO Pierre Pringuet in a press release.

Pernod Ricard USA’s Facebook platform, dubbed Here’s To Tomorrow, “will attempt to spark a social movement through a platform that encourages parents to take an immediate positive approach in discussing drinking with their underage children today in order to effect a better tomorrow.” With only 115 likes on its campaign Facebook page since launching a week ago, however, it's clearly not as easy to spark a social movement as the French alcohol brand purveyor may think.Continue reading...

It seemed a little odd last year when punk metal icons Motörhead decided to do a little brand extending and it took the form of a red wine, Motörhead Shiraz. Fans of the band aren’t exactly known for playing polo and collecting antiques.

According to Gibson.com, though, the vino sold well enough that the band has decided to expand on its alcohol-based brand extensions. So prepare ye, world, for Motörhead Bastards Lager, a beverage that aligns with the popular perception of the group’s heavy metal fan base.

One small problem, thöugh — the new brew is only available in Sweden (it debuted at the recent Sweden Rock festival).Continue reading...

It's no secret that Adam Sandler movies are product placement productions. We have noted the comedian's mastery of the form numerous times on Brandchannel and even gave him one of our Brandcameo Product Placement Awards for his Dunkin' Donuts inclusion in Jack & Jill.

But his latest film, That's My Boy, is far and away his boldest brandstravaganza to date. One might even call it a revolution in Hollywood's relationship with product placement, because Sandler has basically made a 114 minute long commercial for Budweiser.

To demonstrate just how unbelievably pervasive Budweiser is in Sandler's new film, one need look no further than the trailer (top). Below, a few screenshots from the trailer to better capture the King of Beers Product Placement. (Warning: A few images potentially NSFW):Continue reading...

The Mondavi family name is synonymous with fine wine from California's Napa Valley. Interestingly enough, however, a family feud resulted in the odd fact that, today, there are two Mondavi wineries (Robert Mondavi and CK Mondavi, which is owned by the Peter Mondavi family) in existence.

Robert had a falling out with brother Peter and ended up starting Robert Mondavi in 1966, breaking away from the original Mondavi winery founded in 1943, when Cesare and Rosa Mondavi purchased the Charles Krug Winery (hense "CK" Mondavi). (For more on the Mondavi family's reach in the wine world, check out the award-winning Mondovino documentary.)

It is CK Mondavi, though, that has apparently been struck by divine inspiration. The winery just announced its first new brand in over half a century, a collection of super premium wines called "Marc Mondavi's The Divining Rod," accompanied by the unusual tagline, "More than natural, supernatural."Continue reading...

You don’t name your company Skinnygirl if you’re not willing to push a few buttons and the cocktail manufacturer looks ready to do just that with its new “Drink Like a Lady” advertising campaign, which debuted this week.

The brand's first national commercial, now running on cable channels as Bravo, HGTV, Food Network and E!, notes a few new offerings under the Skinnygirl banner such as Skinnygirl Vodka with Natural Flavors, Skinnygirl The Wine Collection and new ready-to-serve cocktails, according to a press release from Beam, which acquired reality TV star Bethenny Frankel's cocktail brand last year.

“The Skinnygirl Cocktails' new ‘Drink Like A Lady’ campaign is about understanding women. They know what they want, how they like it, and the art of socializing should be on their own terms. They've earned it!" says Frankel. The campaign is all about women creating their own social rules and setting their own agendas, which is something Frankel, one of Bravo's five original Real Housewives of New York City, is very familiar with.

Beer consumption in North America and Europe may be falling, but folks in Africa and Latin America are apparently putting back a few more than they used to because the folks at the London-based SABMiller were singing the praises of those two regions to shareholders on Thursday.

Reuters reports that the brewer’s annual earnings actually went up 12 percent (to $5.6 billion in pre-tax profits) and that 70 percent of the SABMiller profits came from “fast-growing emerging markets.” The specific countries in the world beer market that helped boost SABMiller in those regions are Latin America’s Colombia and Peru as well as the African nations of Tanzania and Zambia.Continue reading...

Moskatoloko! A word of advice to Four Loko-maker Phusion Projects: if you're trying to go upmarket with a new "drinks like muscat wine" beverage brand, don't use the term "malt-based" in the press release. Yes, it seems the maker of the infamous "blackout in a can" Four Loko brand (also a "premium flavored malt beverage") is hoping to turn over a new leaf with its new product, Moskato Life.Continue reading...

As the NBA playoffs shift into high gear, the NBA's new beer partners in China are hoping business, and their brands, do likewise. Indeed, the most prominent of the NBA's new beer brand partners, Harbin Brewery, is stepping up, giving 110 percent and leaving it all on the court to peak at the right time and finally get the consumer respect it deserves.Continue reading...