3 ms·

After sales slumped in the 70s they created a disastrous advertising campaign which is a case study in customer alienation: effectively 'drink Schlitz or I'll k

After sales slumped in the 70s they created a disastrous advertising campaign which is a case study in customer alienation: effectively 'drink Schlitz or I'll kill you' :- https://youtu.be/hC8mqPLHDVU https://youtu.be/hC8mqPLHDVU https://youtu.be/f_baloTGt5M https://youtu.be/f_baloTGt5M

valleyer 5mo ago
That's not my read of the message of those ads at all.
- fallinditch 5mo ago
  See Oh, Schlitz: How a Historic Ad Campaign Helped Kill America’s Biggest Beer Brand https://vinepair.com/articles/schlitz-history-ad-campaign https://vinepair.com/articles/schlitz-history-ad-campaign
  - deleted 5mo ago
    [deleted]
  - zamadatix 5mo ago
    I wonder if that type of article would exist if they had made good brewery decisions before launching the commercials. I mean they aren't great commercials, but I don't know I'd compare them to the unabomber or call it the brand killer. The brand was already killed, the commercials just weren't great.
    - bombcar 5mo ago
      If the brand had taken off and recovered the advertisers would claim "daring and powerful commercials that saved the brand" - the one thing they can't admit is that advertising isn't terribly effective.
jhbadger 5mo ago
Wilkins Coffee (which gave employment to a young Jim Henson before Sesame Street or The Muppet Show) was quite successful with its implication that people who don't drink Wilkins get shot and suffer other misfortunes. Maybe having puppets do it was just more charming. https://youtu.be/HVewx3-9x24 https://youtu.be/HVewx3-9x24
FrustratedMonky 5mo ago
Those seem pretty ordinary by beer commercial standards. Advertising didn't kill Schlitz. They made some processing changes to their formula that caused a micro infection. Not sure, could have been Pediococcus. But they did it all at once, and ruined so many batches, that customers left and never came back.

valleyer 5mo ago

That's not my read of the message of those ads at all.

fallinditch 5mo ago
See Oh, Schlitz: How a Historic Ad Campaign Helped Kill America’s Biggest Beer Brand https://vinepair.com/articles/schlitz-history-ad-campaign https://vinepair.com/articles/schlitz-history-ad-campaign
- deleted 5mo ago
  [deleted]
- zamadatix 5mo ago
  I wonder if that type of article would exist if they had made good brewery decisions before launching the commercials. I mean they aren't great commercials, but I don't know I'd compare them to the unabomber or call it the brand killer. The brand was already killed, the commercials just weren't great.
  - bombcar 5mo ago
    If the brand had taken off and recovered the advertisers would claim "daring and powerful commercials that saved the brand" - the one thing they can't admit is that advertising isn't terribly effective.

jhbadger 5mo ago

Wilkins Coffee (which gave employment to a young Jim Henson before Sesame Street or The Muppet Show) was quite successful with its implication that people who don't drink Wilkins get shot and suffer other misfortunes. Maybe having puppets do it was just more charming. https://youtu.be/HVewx3-9x24 https://youtu.be/HVewx3-9x24

FrustratedMonky 5mo ago

Those seem pretty ordinary by beer commercial standards. Advertising didn't kill Schlitz. They made some processing changes to their formula that caused a micro infection. Not sure, could have been Pediococcus. But they did it all at once, and ruined so many batches, that customers left and never came back.