advertising by Misogynists Ltd

[piranha]

i have alas no chance to boycott bacardi because i so rarely drink alcohol, and bacardi isn't on my list for those times. but if i did, oh man, i'd throw out even unopened bottles now.

i'm mostly used to misogyny in ads directed at men, but this one is directed at women: all you need is an ugly girlfriend. bonus: it comes with a fat phobia chaser.

and of course, my idea of ugly doesn't match bacardi's at all. WTF is wrong with these people? i mean, i know what's wrong, actually, but how come THEY don't see it?

[ETA: the online ad was produced by israeli agency mccann digital. apparently the site has since been pulled, because bermudan-HQed bacardi isn't happy with its israeli affiliate. but, you know? not good enough, if you wait with the pulling until the shit hits the blogosphere.]

Comments

[invisionary]

Apparently this ad wasn't authorized by Bacardi itself and was pulled as soon as they got word. Very much made of fail, but it seems the parent company has a bit more clue.

this ad wasn't authorized by Bacardi itself?

[piranha]

hm. link to a legitimate source for that? who authorized it for them, and is that a standard procedure?

Re: this ad wasn't authorized by Bacardi itself?

[invisionary]

http://copyranter.blogspot.com/2009/06/bacardi-says-hot-accessory-this-summer.html#c3034385804034162048

Second to last comment on this page. I can't call this a truly legitimate source, especially as it was posted as an anonymous comment. Then again, depending how strictly you take legitimate sources, you could poke holes at the whole story.

Re: this ad wasn't authorized by Bacardi itself?

[piranha]

yeah, i saw an identical comment elsewhere, also anonymous. i can't say that impresses me much. a statement on bacardi's website, that would be different.

i don't know what you mean about "poking holes in the whole story"; the google cache of that site is still available.

Re: this ad wasn't authorized by Bacardi itself?

[invisionary]

When an affiliate fucks up, regardless, it is often the best policy from a practical standpoint to not call attention to it. Hence why a public apology on a website as a rule isn't going to happen. Odds are more people would find that there was a fail through an apology like that than from finding the actual fail.

FWIW

[firecat]

On a mailing list I read, someone posted an email exchange with Bacardi; the text of the reply they got was identical to the anonymous comment.