Blog 5: Discussing Ch. 10

After reading chapter 10, I realized what was going on in my youth between the beer kingpins which I had never noticed before. In the section labeled, "Coors Light" it said that the three kingpins of Coors, Anheuser-Bush and Miller, began to increase their efforts more than ever before to attract the younger demographic, starting in 2001 to today. I found the many ways they went after the younger demographic to be slick and well-played. I say this because at the time I was in high school and my friends and I would always laugh at and enjoy their new commercials, not really knowing the truth behind them as I do now.

I still remember the softer, more family-oriented Coors Original commercials with the grandfatherly Pete Coors walking through the snow. Such a commercial today probably would not attract a lot of attention and be successful compared to the current racy beer commercials as they are the new standard lately.

The Coors Light commercial with "the twins" was a favorite among my friends and I. I was 17 at the time, still four years from 21, but the campaign worked it's subtle magic by generating conversation and positive buzz among the younger crowd like my friends and I. We were the next beer drinking generation and the beer kingpins knew they had to hook us early.

Still, probably the most favorite one among my friends and I would have to be the "Catfight" commercial. This Miller commercial was seen as a stroke of genius among my friends and my older brothers and their friends. Looking back on it now as a 23 year-old, I can see through the facade and notice how sexist such a commercial really is. Not only that, but it's about as unrealistic as you can get, but it worked because it played to our fantasies. The fact that it was a product of one of the actors in the commercial, it being his way of making a beer commercial, made it relatable to every straight man. Heck, I mean even the twins commercial is more realistic because there's just two hot twins who love football. But this one could have only worked on the level that it did because it was presented in a fantasy setting.

Looking back on all those commercials now I can't help but wonder how much they influenced me at the time. My friends and I certainly enjoyed them, but did they eventually lead me to drink alcohol? I am a responsible social drinker, but would I even be drinking if not for those commercials? I'm sure they had some influence since they glamorized and sexualized the act of drinking. I'm glad this chapter was included in the book because it not only revealed to me what I didn't know about the behind the scenes aspect of the commercials (such as the large volumes of money the kingpins were spending, the shift in campaigns and so on), but i also reaffirmed some theories I had been considering for quite some time.