Alcohol Advertising Alert
Latino groups protest offensive billboards for
Tecate beer
The Chicano Studies Department at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Albuquerque is protesting Tecate ads that they deem racist and sexist. Students from a local high school there brought the billboards to UNM’s attention, and other sightings have now been reported in California as well.
Update 05/24/04 - Labatt pulls Billboards!
Labatt has said it will pull the offensive ads by the end of May. Last week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent a letter to Labatt USA, asking for the ads to be pulled.
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Labatt Blue Beer
Faux Pez Dispenser |
Sesame Street Cookie Monster Pez Dispenser |
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Labatt also has been running a 30-second TV ad for Labatt Blue on ESPN’s coverage of the 2004 NHL Playoffs, in which an attractive young woman and her “boyfriend” (a black bear) exchange gifts in a dimly-lit restaurant. She gives the bear a red tie, and the bear gives her a large PEZ dispenser filled with cans of Labatt Blue.
This commercial contradicts responsible marketing practices by using a cuddly bear and a kid-friendly candy dispenser to promote alcohol. This violates a provision of the Beer Institute’s Advertising and Marketing Code, which states that “Beer advertising should not employ any symbol…that is intended to appeal primarily to persons below the legal purchase age…(meaning) it has special attractiveness to such persons beyond the general attractiveness it has for persons above the legal purchase age.”
Watch the Labatt Pez Ad:
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