Circle Update

Per Karlsson reflects on sexism and equality inwine packagingDifferent normsfor bottle orbox?What do you think is most suggestive? Stylised poutinglips and the name ‘Wacky Chicks’, or a young girl witha flimsy skirt (petticoat?), with a wistful man with a flower,and the name ‘Untouched’?A while back we told you the story of a Swedish wineimporter that had had his wine banned from the shelvesof Systembolaget because the label and the name, in theview of Systembolaget: “give the impression, in our opinion,that alcohol consumption raises the physical or mentalcapabilities, contributes to social or sexual success orsolves problems such as loneliness or boredom”.The wine was removed from the Systembolagetshelves. (Note: Systembolaget has the monopoly on retailsales of wines and spirits in Sweden.) The decision wasalso supported by the trade-appointed ombudsman for thealcohol trade, alkoholgranskningsmannen’.We recently saw a full page advertisement in a Swedishwine magazine for a wine called ‘Untouched’ importedby Primewine (or ‘Untouched by Girasol rosé’ to give thefull name). It is a bag-in-box wine so there is plenty of spaceon the packaging to print graphics.The photo on the front shows a young girl, dressed inwhat looks like a partially see-through dress, who looks asif she has barely come out of her teens. On one of the sidesthere is a man with a flower in his hand, smiling, with thetext ‘the hopeful rival’. On the back side there is a photoof a lonely, sad-looking man with the text ‘alone in love’,apparently walking away ofter a failed seduction attempt.And on the fourth side there is the girl together with anotherman and the text ‘picking real love’.One can also speculate over what the name ‘Untouched’is supposed to mean. It is not very far-fetched to seeit as an allusion to the girl and her youth. The importerMultibev, which is a subsidiary of Primewine AB, says in itscommunication ‘you haven’t missed the little love story onthe box, have you?’The Systembolaget retailing monopoly has the winein its list but has chosen to show the more innocent backside of the box rather than the young girl at the front. Acoincidence? Or for what reason?Evidently the Systembolaget does not consider a lightlyclad, half-dressed young girl and a love story as a problem.We cannot help wondering which of the packagings comeclosest to “give the impression, in our opinion, that alcoholconsumption raises the physical or mental capabilities,contributes to social or sexual success or solves problemssuch as loneliness or boredom”. Or are there differentnorms for big selling bag-in-boxes (‘Sweden’s best sellingrosé’) and for bottles that are only stocked in the niche onorderlist?So, our question to you is: Which of the two packagingsdo you think is most playing on sex, success, and solvedproblems with loneliness and boredom? Which is mosttargeted at a younger consumer?Three weeks later Per returned to the same‘Untouched’ advertisementHow to sidestep the lawon moderation in alcoholadvertisingIn Sweden advertising for wine must be very restrained, asin many other countries (France for instance). In principle,you are only allowed to show the product in the ad, ie thepackaging.In recent years it seems that the rule may have beenslightly relaxed so that you are allowed to show a glass.There have been instances of wine importers have beenfined, or threatened with a fine, for ads showing eg achequered tablecloth and a corkscrew or an oak barrel.One of the first to have figured out a clever way to makethese rules meaningless is the wine importer Primewine,thanks to the success of bag-in-box (cask) wines, whichrepresent more than 50% of sales in Sweden.There is a big flat surface on the BiB box, almost likea magazine page. And the box is undeniably the winepackaging. Print a pretty picture on the box you have thepossibility to put almost anything in a magazine ad (forexample, young and beautiful people alluding to sex,happiness and success). The advert will show only thepackaging so there should be no problem. Here is oneexample.Imagine the alternative situation:an ad with a traditional bottle with alabel and next to the bottle a photoof a romantic couple on a picnic. Anydoubt that such an advertisementwould fall foul of the rules?http://www.bkwine.com/debate/sexism-and-equality-inwine-packaging/http://www.bkwine.com/newsletter/bkwine-brief-archive/bkwine-brief-97-august-2011/Circle Update October 2011 41