What you'll find here:

This blog is a collection of vintage advertisements, posted Monday through Friday. All ads are scans from magazines in my collection (or those of my friends), so I claim no copyright over them. Remember, these ads are from bygone eras: don't get upset if you see something you don't like, nor excited if you see something you do.

If you particularly like an ad and want a hi-res copy for yourself, email or message me and I can send you one.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Grant's 8

Playboy, Jan. 1969
The first advertisement to kick off this blog!  We start with a libation: Grant's 8 scotch.  I found this ad to be interesting because it employs a strategy that you don't often see in advertising today: telling you not to buy it.  This is a pretty common strategy in the 60's-70's, based on the ads I've seen.  Keep following this blog, and you'll probably see some more examples of it too.


What it states is true:  scotch, like most alcohol, is an acquired taste.  So it stands to reason that the uninitiated wouldn't find a bottle of Grant's 8 on their shopping list.  So this ad tells the consumer to go ahead and avoid it.  Don't like scotch? Stay away from our product!  This stuff sure is scotch!

On the other hand, you could see this ad as issuing a challenge.  You can't handle our scotch, so come back when you can!  It gives the scotch a mystique: liquor of the brotherhood of scotch-drinkers which won't accept the unwashed masses.  Of course, a non-scotch drinker may just turn the page and shrug, reaching over to their martini or G&T as they read the next article.  If scotch doesn't want you, there are other clubs to be in.

I'm sure there's a reason we don't see this strategy much anymore.  It's probably been replaced by campaigns that follow lines something like: Don't like scotch?  Try ours, and maybe you will!

I don't know, maybe selling something by telling people not to buy it isn't the slickest idea ever.

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4 comments:

  1. OH Bee JuanNovember 11, 2013 at 10:15 PM

    It could be an early invitation to man-up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. kszym1289November 12, 2013 at 9:58 AM

    I agree. I think it's more trying to imply that only a certain caliber of person likes scotch, and if you are that high quality then the only scotch to like is theirs.

    ReplyDelete
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