Afternoon Tonic: Baffling Maker’s Mark Advertisement
Published by Joel April 12th, 2007 in Booze, Tonic. Share This
Maker’s Mark is thoroughly average bourbon, but I drink a fair amount of it simply because it tends to be the best bourbon most bars have on hand. (And even when bars have something better, I cringe at paying $9 for a glass of, say, Bulleit that only costs $35 for a whole bottle.) Still, I have no problem with Maker’s Mark. I will gladly knock it back without complaint.
But I’m not sure what they’re trying to say with this giant outdoor advertisement. That Maker’s Mark is transported in tanker trucks? That Maker’s Mark tastes like gasoline? That Maker’s Mark is some sort of fuel? It’s very confusing. The text on the sign simply says, “We make our bourbon very carefully. Please enjoy it that way.” That offers no clue.
(Photo: Unknown)
Heh - i recognize the spot on Sunset Blvd. were the billboard is.
Perhaps it’s a swing and a miss on don’t drink and drive?
Its advertising - its not supposed to have any point, its just supposed to catch your eye and plant its name deep into your brain!
You are paying way too much for a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon, unless you’re getting the big jug with the handle. It’s around $15 a bottle here and every bit as good as Maker’s Mark or Knob Hill (though Basil Hayden is a tad bit better).
$15 for a bottle of Bulleit? In what state?
$28 for a 750ml in nyc. i hear the price of bulleit is going up so better grab what you can at $15, in any state.
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I think I know someone that works on the Maker’s account here in town (Louisville). I’ll see if I can drum up an “official” answer from the ad agency. Assuming I don’t get distracted by a shiny object (or bourbon).
My money is on:
“Truckers like to drink our booze so much, they’ll climb up onto the billboard and pour it into their tanks. Also, this is a really big bottle of hooch.”
+1 Tyler. Who cares what it means? It caught your attention, you posted it to Dethroner, and now we’re all talking about it.
I doubt they intended to start a conversation about preemptive stockpiling of Bulleit, but whatever. “Confusing” is just fine for an advertisement, as long as it’s hand in hand with “memorable”. It’s a good ad, in my book.
If your a Makers Mark fan, you may as well sign up as an ambassador.
You get free novelty items each quarter or so and your name on a barrel at thier home base. You also get some extra event invites and some bonuses if you go on a tour.
Examples of past items:
Golf Balls with a “wax seal” on them
makers mark plastic cups
makers mark greeting cards
small metal drink mixer
to name a few
http://www.ambassador.makersmark.com/LogIn.aspx?url=/Default.aspx
I think it’s an attempt to draw in the Jim Beam drinkers. I’m not stereotyping here, known a few truckers who only drank Beam “n’Coke”.
Bulleit is something like $20-25 here (MD) - you guys are getting ripped off, and that sucks, because this is hands-down my favorite bourbon. Maker’s is decent, but if I’m going to spend that much on bourbon, I’ll go for Woodford Reserve.
Bulleit is one of those rare things that’s way too cheap, and it’s probably going to start costing more once they realize that people will pay for it.
No idea what’s going on with that ad, beyond the usual feeling of “Oh cool, it’s a billboard, but it’s also happening in real life“.
Yeah, I’m with ThinkAndDrive:
“Hey, I’m a trucker, driving along, enjoying the open ro- holy hell, that’s a BIG bottle o’ Maker’s Mark that I would really enjoy drinking! I’ll just fill up my tank with it before someone else does!”
I’m not sure how that relates to the slogan, unless said slogan is just the requisite “don’t drink and drive” message, unrelated to the rest of the scene. Which is, as Greg says, more about the novelty of stuff popping out of a billboard than anything deeper.
I was initially confused too, but that was because I didn’t see the little guy pouring the bottle at first.
15 for bullet - youre crazy. Also I think you mean Knob Creek, not Knob Hill - which Knob creek is great, but 35-40 a bottle here in MI. I’m also a Makers Ambassador. Free stuff, and all you have to do is say you drink it!