Thursday

The sorry state of wine advertising

By my count, there are 13 full-page ads in the Thanksgiving issue of Food & Wine. Nearly all are for labels owned by the big conglomerates (Beringer~Fosters; Ravenswood~Franciscan; La Crema~Jackson Family; Mondavi~Constellation; Frei~Gallo; Columbia Crest~Ste. Michelle; Hogue~Vincor; etc.) Given that a page in Food & Wine costs $75,000 for a single insertion, they’re probably the only ones who can afford it.

For that kind of dough, you’d think they’d put a little more thought into the communication. Nope. With one exception, all of these ads are a bust creatively.

This is doubly strange, given that the Thanksgiving issue of F&W is arguably their most important. It’s a fair bet that pretty much everyone who subscribes will be cooking on that day. For a foodie, it’s a lot of pressure getting everything just so. You’d think wine producers might address this. Turns out they’d rather just talk to themselves.

I could dish all the bad ads here. But maybe the better course is to point out what makes the one good ad so much better than the rest.

I’m talking about the La Crema ad, of course (it’s just beneath the magazine cover). The headline says, “Everything the name implies.” A line that drives you back to the label and simultaneously underscores the brand name – with its connotation of sweet cream – and the varietal – the ripe-cherry quality of pinot noir.

This ad has appetite appeal equal to or better than the editorial in the magazine. The ad practically drips off the page. Credit understated art direction, gimmick-free photography and hands-off food styling.

But ultimately, the credit belongs to the client (and the agency) who committed to a single-minded message and avoided the temptation to say more than is necessary. How easy would it have been to add a line about Price or Availability? Or worse, about the producer’s heritage, vineyard holdings, or winemaker?

Do I even need to mention that this is the only ad (beside the KJ “issue” ad) that DOESN’T have a bottle shot??

The value in examining all of these ads at once is seeing how frighteningly similar they are. Realizing that the very purpose of advertising -- nay, all branding – is differentiation, the level of incompetence is astounding.