The Power of Advertising

Previously we posted about the power of advertising in the sale of alcohol. Sure big alcohol distributors make a lot of money on single page adds in magazines. However, it's refreshing to find home decor catalogs with clearly discernible bottles of alcohol or cocktails on tables and in cupboards. Sure, it's nice to get the Beverages and More catalog, but so much nicer when the advertising is a little less blatant. We noticed that the Beverages and More catalog formatting is difficult to understand that the photo layout is juvenile. The section on Vodka is set against a bright white background so the whole page is white with bold black letters. Boring. It doesn't make me stand up and say, "I must have that bottle of Hanger 1! It's only $19.99!" I do have to give BevMo the credit of being a lot more interesting than grocery store advertisments.

Interestingly enough, the February 2010 Pottery Barn catalog came out recently. We all thought that there would be a good selection of booze nestled in the room arangements. However, the corporate overlords must have caught on to these subliminal messages and put a stop to them. They probably figured free advertising isn't in their best interest. Afterall, this catalog is aimed at the Upper Middle Class, who can afford to spend, spend, spend. I only counted a half dozen different wines in cuppords and most lables were turned; except a white called 21 which was prominently placed on a table. There was also a bottle of Heiniken with a half full glass next to it on a coffee table. That coffee table set up was pretentious. Who sits around their living room playing scrabble, drinking Heiniken out of a glass, and flipping through ancient tomes or unabridged dictionaries? So disappointing! Pottery Barn, why have you forsaken us?!

I wonder if there are other magazines or catalogs out there that are subliminal booze advertisments? The Crate & Barrel must advertise somewhere. Right? The Gindicate will be on the lookout.