Comments on: Beer ads and the Superbowl (and the winner is…)

By: Stéphane

Stéphane — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 11:05:37 +0000

Bonjour Grant,

I’m in the advertising business and felt that the Michelob spot had something wrong, without being able to tell what was wrong.
If I had to tell (in front of clients) I would probably argued that the message was there, that the understanding of the concept was bulletproof, that the ad was eyes-catchy, and on and on…

But, there was still something wrong with that spot. Your “Riggins man” concept highlight the way that spot compromise the commun sense of masculinity, which is key in the beer consumption.

What if the “Riggins Woman” was Paris Hilton and those kind of “over-the-top” women ?

To answer your question, the credit for all those had should go to DDB/Chicago.

Merci

By: Tom Guarriello

Tom Guarriello — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 13:00:28 +0000

Gretchen Wilson’s 2005 hit “Red Neck Woman,” complete with longneck beers, is a testimonial to the female “puer aeternis” that is the Riggins woman. Even evident in NYC at “Hogs and Heffers” in the Meatpacking District.

By: Renee Hopkins Callahan

Renee Hopkins Callahan — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 10:57:43 +0000

Dilys, I agree, although my experience with the Riggins-type female drinker in Texas is that she’s probably drinking straight tequila! There are at least two country songs I know of that discuss tequila in this manner as well — “Jose Cuervo” and “Straight Tequila Nights” (I think those are the titles).

Grant, Lance Armstrong is fomr Austin, the place I am moving to this summer! Austin has a very different culture than other Texas cities.

By: Grant

Grant — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:37:41 +0000

Steve, I agree. I did have a “course correction” feeling about it. Thanks, Grant

Renee, This is a great question. I did a round of research around 1990 and at that point some college-aged women in Canada were saying things like, “well, the guys start drinking and before you know it a rugby game breaks out at your party. It’s really charming.” By the end of the century, there was evidence that college-aged women were drinking beer “like guys,” that is to say with gusto and a certain abandon. Some achieved a Riggins-ish status, though I think the center of gravity was not so far along. I think it would be hard to specify a single style of drinking now, but I think lots of women now drink in a “party hearty” manner, and they do so without compromising their gender credential, which is to say, I guess, that Riggins beer consumption is no longer gender specific. Thanks, Grant

Dilys, This is interesting. I am certain that in a world of plenitude there is lots of regional variation, and in may be that in parts of Texas, certain definitions of maleness are so marked that most women are “just not going there.” I don’t know. It would be fun to do the research and find out. I once to an ethnographic project in Plano Texas, another in Dallas, and a third in ??? (what city is Lance Armstrong from?). My conclusion: Texas is endless interesting. Just when you think you’ve got it, it resists categorization. Thanks (and thanks for the kind words), Grant

By: dilys

dilys — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:23:31 +0000

I think the “Riggins woman” may not be a beer drinker. There are Texas Riggins women who seem fearless and outspoken and dependent on no-one’s approval, though they often have a small, devoted following from both sexes. That sort drink margaritas or nothing (though not all MD’s are Riggins women).

I think that yoghurt ad (Dannon) in which the two women, one African-American and one White American, coined semi-outrageous metaphors for how good it is, was an ineffective effort to tap how Riggins women talk among themselves.

What a great example of a market-segment profile, Grant!

By: Corante Marketing Hub

Corante Marketing Hub — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:10:18 +0000

XL follow-up #3: Technology giveth and technology taketh away

Except for continued complaints about the the Pittsburgh-leaning refs, most of the sports world has left the actual Super Bowl game behind and are looking forward to the Olympics. However, the Super Bowl ads live on this year like never…

By: Corante Marketing Hub

Corante Marketing Hub — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:09:24 +0000

XL follow-up #3: Technology giveth and technology taketh away

By: Renee Hopkins Callahan

Renee Hopkins Callahan — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:01:26 +0000

Grant, is there a “Riggins woman”? Or are beer-loving females like me too small a subset of the market for any company to pitch ads to her?! renee

By: steve

steve — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 20:15:06 +0000

The Michelob Ultra really worked for me when the Riggins man delivered the big hit to the babe. I saw the role-reversal at the end as “lip-service” to the women-are-superior default zeitgeist in the creative community. It’s insincerity actually magnified the humor.