Johnnie Walker Walks

[TheBigotBasher]

Johnnie Walker, owned by Diageo, did a brilliant ad/infomercial for their premium blended whisky.

The ad is called, "The man who walked all around the World". It is supposedly the true story behind Johnnie Walker and how from he started to produce one of the finest blends that Scotland has ever sold, from his small grocer store in Kilmarnock.

Of course, it is all weepy. Of course, given Diageo is a giant company, this internet only advert has a large budget. You are watching an ad that cost £1000 a second to make - even though all it really is is Robert Carlyle walking down a road. So of course, it will pull a few heart strings. (Heart strings being pulled and alcohol are not a good idea). On an aside, Robert Carlyle certainly sounds more Scottish in this ad than he does normally.

However, the heart strings being pulled are not those of the viewer. They belong to those who buy Johnnie Walkers and those who made it. Diageo closed their bottling plant in Kilmarnock. The town that had a 189 history with Johnnie Walker.

Over 700 people lost their jobs. A decision confirmed in September, despite strong community opposition.

So much for the heart strings. The $$$s always come first.

The Johnnie Walker you buy from now on will have no association with Kilmarnock. It will be one of many cheap blended whiskies. It may have Johnnie Walker on the label, but it will have no actual association with the town of Kilmarnock.

[virgogal]

1. A true boozer could care less.

[TheBigotBasher]

6. Your compassion amazes me.

Such Liberal views.

[Hannah Bell]

2. all brands are becoming virtual, with no connection with the features that

once made them unique & distinct.

production moved anywhere in the world, depending on market conditions, virtual branded capitalism gives the lie to the theory of comparative advantage.

not about "special water" or any of that crap. it's about the cost of labor & intra-capital struggle for dominance.

[MadHound]

4. That is true of the large brands,

Which is why I stick with smaller brands, local microbrews, etc.

[Hannah Bell]

5. which are what, 1% of the market? & if you check out their finances, sometimes have

the same big capital backing them?

that "uniqueness," which was once taken for granted, now = a luxury for the upper middle class & above.

[MadHound]

9. Not necessarily so,

When I say local microbrews, I mean ones within the state. Same with local wines. As far as hard liquor goes, I drink tequila. When I visit friends in Austin I stop by the Century liquor store and pick up a supply of smaller, but tastier labels. I don't drink that much, so a little bit lasts a long while.

As far as costs, I've found that you win some, you lose some, and some are a draw. Local beer tends to be a bit more expensive, local wines a little less expensive, while the tequila is generally either a draw or less than comparable national brands.

None of these are funded by national brands, they are all small label or local creations.

[TheBigotBasher]

8. Although I reject excessive protectionism,

the assumptions behind comparative advantage and free trade are as weak as the assumptions behind perfect competition.

Giant mega corporations destroy those models, so that free trade, instead of being something that can better the peoples of the World, moves to something that continually bids wages down and increases the level of corporate monopoly. This is why France, even under a right of centre Government, is so very protective of their exports, such as champagne.

[corkhead]

13. maybe everything you see when YOU shop at Wally World.

some brands still mean something, but they usually don't produce enough for nation wide marketing and distribution the big box stores want, which is why I don't shop at those places.

[Vickers]

3. Switch to bourbon!

:headbang:

[TheBigotBasher]

10. I understood Jack D's was facing the same fate.

Will it matter when all drinks products are made from a sweat shop factory, with different additives applied to give that brand taste?

[Raster]

11. Jack Daniels is NOT a bourbon. Tennessee sour mash whiskey.

[Vickers]

15. THANK YOU!!!

Man, I am FOREVER having to explain the difference to non-bourbon folk.

:P

[Raster]

17. The difference can be summed up in one word: KENTUCKY!

[Bucky]

7. Good ol' fashioned corporate citizenship. Any idea where they're making it now?

[Posteritatis]

12. Ugh. Pity; the ad was a work of art, too.

That wouldn't just be a guy walking down a road; timing and filming that well would have been incredibly difficult and involved a lot of attempts. It's in one take; if there weren't several, maybe even dozens, of other botched ones sitting among increasingly empty bottles of whiskey, I wouldn't be surprised in the least. Long shots like that are very, very hard to do well.

That said, it's an absolute travesty if they're cutting off ties with the town the label actually originated in, though. They need to catch hell for a stunt like that, especially if it's right on the heels of an advertisement playing up their history. Ugh.

[niyad]

14. thank goodness I don't drink "the water of life"--would have to give it up.

thank goodness we have decent wineries and distilleries within the state. don't drink beer, but a lot of good microbrews here as well.

[JVS]

16. I've never bought the stuff because it comes from Kilmarnock, I've bought it because it tastes good.

If the taste suffers, I'll quit drinking it.