Top 10 shocking spirits adverts

Strict laws may limit how spirits brands market their products, but some still manage to shock with their sexy, strange, funny and completely outrageous adverts.

From the sexually suggestive to the politically sensitive, these are the top 10 shocking spirits adverts

While Bacardi’s blended Scotch whisky brand Dewar’s encountered controversy over the past 12 months with not one, but two adverts, Bulgarian brand Flirt Vodka continued with its boundary-testing, sex-focussed posters.

Sex also helped to sell products by Skyy Vodka, Evan Williams Bourbon, Bacardi rum and Cabana cachaca.

Absolut Vodka meanwhile made a PR blunder in 2008 with its Absolut World campaign featuring a politically sensitive map of America and Mexico, sparking outrage in the regions.

We may have already brought you a list of the most popular spirits ads, but here, we select the top 10 most shocking spirits adverts. Have you been outraged by a spirits advert we haven’t included? Let us know which it is below.

Dewar’s – Meet the Baron

At the end of last year, Dewar’s blended Scotch whisky was the target of widespread criticism when it released its “Meet the Baron” advertisement, with accusations of sexism thrown the Bacardi-owned brand’s way.

Focusing on the central character of The Baron, who swoops in to save Dewar’s drinkers in their hour of need, the advertisement explains how “on the battlefield, he wouldn’t just take a bullet for you, he’d be the one throwing himself on the explosives”. Simultaneously, the advert depicts a busty, rotund blonde approaching a male Dewar’s drinker at the bar, just as The Baron steps in to deflect her advances.

As hoards of people took to Twitter to express their outrage over the ad and the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS) launched an investigation, Dewar’s removed the offensive commercial.

Flirt Vodka

Bulgarian vodka brand Flirt Vodka has become more famous for its boundary-pushing, outrageously sexual advertisements than the product itself.

While UK advertising standards prohibits using sex to sell products, Flirt Vodka throws caution to the wind with its selection of playful, cheeky and naughty adverts.

The brand covered a host of sexually suggestive situations in its marketing posters – including a woman with raw red knees, a kitchen smothered in whipped cream, and a certain compromising park bench scenario.

Jim Beam on Campus

Jim Beam’s creative “On Campus” Australian advertising campaign was launched in 2004 amid much controversy as some viewers did not believe the creature-like students depicted looked over the age of 25.

One of the ads also included the tagline “Unleash the Beast” which was criticised for encouraging excessive drinking.

Jim Beam was also named and shamed by Australia’s independent Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) as one of the most irresponsible examples of alcohol advertising in the country by putting its logo on children’s clothing.

Cabana Cachaca

This advertisement for Cabana Cachaca is more than just a little tongue in cheek with its images of nude woman – completely with thong tan lines, obviously – featured alongside the tagline “authentically Brazilian”. I’m sure you can work out what that refers to…

Absolut World

In 2008 Absolut Vodka published this advert showing a map of southern America and Mexico from the 1830s when Mexico included California, Texas and other southwestern states. The territories were lost to the US in the 1848 Mexican-American war and other battles – a sensitive issue still in the country.

The adverts were only run in Mexico, were also found online in the US and, sparking outrage among many Mexicans and Americans, some of whom called for a boycott of Absolut.

Absolut withdrew the advert and released a statement saying “In no way was it meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues.”

Belvedere

In 2012, LVMH-owned Belvedere Vodka came under fire for an advert which a number of consumers complained linked alcohol and date rape.

Using a screen shot from a US sketch show, the ad ran with the line “Unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly”, with a rather scared looking woman being grabbed by a smiling man.

However the advert was taken down from the brand’s social media pages following an onslaught of criticism. To make matters worse, the woman in the sketch (pictured) sued the company for “emotional distress and unlicensed use of her image”.

Dewar’s Highlander Honey

Dewar’s has been including for a second time on this list for its 2013 TV advertisement for Highlander Honey starring English-Italian actress Claire Forlani, star of Meet Joe Black.

Viewers took to the Twittersphere to air their grievances over what they believed to be a poor, even “painful”, Scottish accent put on by Forlani.

In it, the English-Italian actress allows a bee to sting her finger before stirring her glass of Highlander Honey with it, declaring “You should be asking yourself: what is sweetness without a little bite,” in an attempt at a Scottish accent. She then turns over her shoulder and warns “Be careful Angus” to an off-screen presence before throwing her head back and laughing.

“Bad accent and terrible adverts!!” wrote one viewer on the Daily Mail website. “Why does it have a Spanish/Italian vibe to it? Shouldn’t it be Scottish?” wrote another on Reddit.

Skyy Vodka

Skyy Vodka’s adverts are always sure to get a few hearts racing with their not-so-subtle sexual suggestiveness.

Produced by Italian drinks group Gruppo Campari and available in a range of flavours, Skyy Vodka launched its sexiest ad campaign to date “featuring bold, vibrant imagery that is provocative, engaging and opens the mind to a million sexy possibilities”.

Evan Williams

This selection of advertisements by Bourbon brand Evan Williams turned a few heads by reflecting its own ageing process in the ageing process of women, running with the tagline: “The longer you wait, the better it looks.”

The print advert on the left depicts a young schoolgirl who then matures into a sex siren when she gets seven year older, mirroring the Bourbon’s own seven-year ageing process. The middle picture shows a woman who is viewed as much more attractive once she has spent time preening herself, while the third advert indicates that women have become more sexual through the ages.

Bacardi

In an attempt to combat beer, Bacardi aligned itself with a three-breasted woman. Released through its blog Better Than Beer, Bacardi upped its attempt to appeal to a male consumer-base by stating that similar to this blonde, three-breasted woman, it is also “better than beer”.