Geez, porn creep? Pornified?

Good Day Readers:

The Jim Scott Budweiser beer video (below) made us smile. A few years ago while waiting in line at a 7-11 a young fellow was attempting to purchase some Zig-Zag cigarette papers but was experiencing difficulity explaining his request to the clerk who's native language was obviously not English. The problem seemed to be the product comes in both a blue and white package (paper thickness presumably the difference).

Of course, while the dialogue continued the lineup kept getting longer, the customer increasingly embarrassed and the hilarious sidebar comments began. However, in the end he persevered to get what he wanted (blue) - a little reminiscent of Jim Scott without the added complications or buying condoms a few years ago.

Not content to leave it there we decided to do a little research on Zig-Zag.

Zig-Zag is a brand of rolling papers that originated in France. It is marketed in the USA by National Tobacco and in Europe by Republic Technologies. The Zig-Zag brand is used primarily for hand-rolled tobacco related products such as cigarette rolling papers, tubes and accessories. The rolling papers, commonly referred to as "rollies" in drug subculture, are also popularly used for rolling cannabis joints, supposedly due to the slow burning rate of the "white pack" brand.

The image on the logo is that of a Zouave. In an advertising campaign in the 1960s, the company published leaflets with the Zouave facing the viewer (much like Uncle Sam) and captioned, "Captain Zig-Zag wants YOU!"

Zig-Zag Products

Cigarette papers: Made from wood pulp and flax, and uses natural gum Arabic, they come in five sizes. One is 1.0 (single wide). This size is often called "the white pack" because of its color. Another is 1¼, (125, one and a quarter), often called "the orange pack" (or "orangies" in some areas) because of its color. The third are the kings, or king size, also known for their orange or reddish hue, the fourth 1 1/2 (one and a half) and the fifth 2.0 (double wide). Usually the white pack and orange pack are sold together in many stores across the United States. In Canada, the most popular size is the single wide, but with "kut-corners."There are also varieties of these sizes including Liquorice, Water Resistant, Slow Burning and Free Burning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zig-Zag_(company)

Here's what TIME Magazine said recently about the Budweiser commercial.

Sincerely,

Clare L. Pieuk

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This Porn's For You: Budweiser's Racy Web Add

By BELINDA LUSOMB

Thursday, June 4, 2009

The ad, which quietly appeared in February as part of a viral campaign, has attracted little notice thus far, but because it comes from a highly respected American brand, it seems to mark some kind of cultural tipping point, where pornography has soaked so far into the fabric of mainstream culture that it's no longer seen as a stain. The phenomenon, known as porn creep, is also evident in ads from such companies as American Apparel, Carl's Jr. and Quiznos. This is a family website, so you can Google those ads on your own. (See the best and worst Super Bowl ads of 2009.)

But Budweiser is a much bigger, better-known brand. "Why is such a huge company aligning itself with pornography?" asks Michael Solomon, a marketing professor at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. "Because Budweiser must have calculated it was worth the risk to alienate some people, if they could reach their core buyers." (Watch TIME's video "Beer Pong Strikes Back.")

As marketers struggle to find ways to make an impression on a population saturated in all kinds of media, the too-hot-for-TV online-only video has become an increasingly common device. And in order to get customers to seek out and recommend the straight-to-YouTube video, marketers often reach for comedy from the appropriateness hinterlands. Especially when trying to reel in young men.

And they're being lauded for it. Last year, Budweiser's advertising agency, DDB in Chicago, won an Emmy for its Internet-only spot "Swear Jar," which depicts office workers having to pay a quarter every time they curse, with the money being used to buy Bud Light. The commercial turns into a bleepfest as the cubicle mates indulge their inner sailors. But is bleeping curse words the same thing as pixelating graphic sexual toys? "Porn is the next logical step," says Solomon.

So far, there hasn't been much pushback. Even anti-pornography activist Donna Rice Hughes was not shocked that Anheuser-Busch, which makes Bud Light, would go there. "The line has gotten really blurred," she says. "There's a whole generation that has been pornified. They don't think it's a big deal. Budweiser's tapping into that." (Read 10 questions with Hugh Hefner.)

But Hughes and other media watchdogs are concerned that marketers — and all media — are increasingly referencing pornography and pornographic motifs. "Apparently, Anheuser-Busch has decided to associate itself and its brand with something that destroys family and degrades women," says Cathy Rose, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank and lobbying group. "I think it's a questionable approach at the very least."

She cites Focus on the Family studies that have found that 43% of families say pornography is a problem in their home. And while she acknowledges that the spot has some fun at the porn-consumer's expense (the last joke in the ad is about the porn-buyer's mom finding out what he's purchasing), she says that "many of these people's experiences with pornography is not funny.

Some of their families have been devastated by it."

Both Anheuser-Busch and DDB declined to comment for this story. But branding expert Rob Frankel contends that any controversy generated by the video will be regarded as icing on the marketing-strategy cake. "This ad is about a guy who would like a brew and some ass," he says. "That's right in their strike zone."