Andrea H writes:
I just saw the attached picture on Facebook (a free du-rag with the purchase of Seagram’s Gin) and thought it would be a good discussion topic for the ladies of Curlynikki.com.
Does the idea of this make you feel some kinda way?
CN Says:
Just when you thought you’d seen it all… I just… I can’t. It’s too early in the morning for this rachet foolishness.
Just when you thought you’d seen it all… I just… I can’t. It’s too early in the morning for this rachet foolishness.
After doing a quick Google search to authenticate this one (thought it was some bullish), I came across HotHipHopDetroit’s appropriately titled article, ‘Hold Up, Hold Up, Hold Up Whoa Der’, where they share Michigan Liquor Control Commission’s July document discussing its approval. Oh, and here’s an image of a guy wearing one.
This is a joke, right?Does the idea of this make you feel some kinda way?
I just happened to peak in here to see what was new and I am surprised that women here are really BOTHERED by this marketing tactic. I don't watch rap videos and don't support hip-hop but by virtue of living on this earth I am keenly aware of the association between the consumption of gin and advocacy hair grooming through the thoughtful placement of a doo-rag. So why are you acting like you can't imagine why and why are you offended? This promotion is not racist. This promotion is not insensitive. Whether it will be counted among one of Seagram's most successful marketing plans remains to be seen, but they are within their legal and moral right to add the product to the bottle. And trust me enough people will buy this and gladly they will buy this!
Stop being so serious like you don't know why someone, likely black, thought this idea would work.
Stop acting as if there is a singular black community and that as black you have to act offended if something doesn't apply to your personal sensibilities.
Stop associating yourself with everything that black people do. We are all different. I see this. I am black. I don't wear doo-rags or buy gin. I may smirk or LOL but I will not get bent out of shape.
Stop playing the whining, call Rev Al, start a march, get the NAACP black person, especially we women, always wanting to stand up against a thing. We have bigger fish to fry.
And on that not, stop picking little insignificant battles to fight.
I'm a white male and I bought this liquor for the du-rag. White folks can wear du-rags too you know.
@ deandra – this is exactly my point, miss deandra. the fact that they looked at the sales data and market research and this was the result is so telling. it really does feel like racism, but these guys are all about the green, so what does this really say about us? *smh*
It's not the du-rag that's the problem. It's not the liquor that's the problem. I have bought both before and am not a thug. It's the combination of the two that perpetrates a stereotype that is not positive. I bet the people putting this together did not say in their minds or out loud, "Those lay-about negros will buy anything!" They looked at their figures. The Seagrams is probably being bought disproportionally in "Urban" areas by men. And someone else thought, "What do I see black men using that is an easy to package giveaway? Du-rags!" It is not a sign of racism; it's a product of socio-economic realities.
Rachet and ignorant as hell smh
But I bet cash money this ish is gonna sell..when are we as a community gonna wake up?
REALLY THIS ONE THE CRAZIEST MARKETING CAMPAIGNS I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR.. OBVIOUSLY SOMEONE IS BUYING INTO THIS CRAP FOR THEM TO ADVERTISE THIS CRAP… THATS OK SEAGRAMS, IM JUST ONE VOICE BUT I WILL DO MY PART TO SHOW HOW RIDICULOUS THIS IS IN THE ONE WAY I KNOW THAT WORKS… MUSIC .. "GIN TO LOVE" (HOW TO LOVE PARODY) http://youtu.be/bjfKG8h3wHM
@ 10:00 pm, right! As sad as this is, you've made laugh!
I'm with you Anonymous 10:00 pm! These things retain some sting because there are people acting out these stereotypes in the media. I mean… gin and du rags? I don't even really get it. But if they put this du rag on here they must sell to enough black people to not have to worry about people *not* buying these bottles because they're confused by the du-rag, so instead of railing against the man maybe we should have some pride and not be what people say we are. Yes, a du-rag is a legitimate hair accessory, but we all (including the people wearing it) know what kind of lifestyle it symbolizes.
This is stupid…that's like selling tequila with a free box of el paso tacos..
This ad evokes this much outrage but Real Housewives of ATL and/or LA or the Hip Hop Wives evokes what? …love and admiration for Bravo & VH1???
@Anonymous 5:16. I totally agree with you. Its time for us to be serious as an entire race. While some of us have our lives together. There are a lot of us who dont. Black people we need to get our lives in order. Set up priorites, set goals, make a mark. I am tired of seeing us become more divided. I wish there was a way we could all come together and work together to make our lives better. We are always saying "the man did this or didn't do that". Well I am saying what are you going to do. Nothing will ever be given to us. So work for what you want, work for where you want to be, and work for where you want to go.
Peace and Love
Kim
A liquor advertisement targeting a non-white demographic that's offensive…are we REALLY going to be outraged and offended EVERY time this occurs? I guess we are outraged every time there is a horrible rap or R&B jingle when selling a product on tv? or what about the "that's Pine-Sol baby"? Should I be outraged at Uncle Ben's rice too? this is capitalism, not necessarily racism. I'm more saddened by "internalized racism"…and more offended at the number of liquor stores (especially near schools) in our communities, than this ad. Fact is the ad WILL most likely be successful and the liquor WILL be purchased (and the doo rags WILL be worn…with an outfit to match).
I agree with everyone who has commented about the need for us to do better. Although the marketing is not right, there are far too many of us that feed right into this imagery with our real-life behavior and value system. It is tiring to keep getting all angry at the companies who put these ads out, when they can simply point directly at large groups of folk who directly confirm it.
When we are overwhelmingly projecting an image of excellence, self-care, self-love, and love of education and family stability, THEN we can truly cry foul. Until then, I guess I'll just laugh at this ish to keep from crying.
Silliest thing I have heard. I mean really? No words, just a shake of my head.
The problem is that more negative images are associated with us than positive images. This ad is just more of the same.
http://www.seagramsescapes.com/ContactUs/
Pernod Ricard's "Ethical Marketing Strategies" page
http://www.pernod-ricard.com/en/pages/191/pernod/Corporate-responsibility/Responsible-consumption/Implementing-ethical-marketing-strategies.html
Should we be outraged at Seagram's or ourselves?
Lawrence @
l.m.pickett30@sbcglobal.net
Solution?
Mail bomb Pernod Ricard and withhold our billions of dollars from their MNC which is really just a large liquor store when you get down to brass tacks.
wow lol.. what's next?..a complementary jar of hair grease with the purchase of a pack of chicken? I'm not up in arms, but this is ridiculous.
Though this is a bit ridiculous….i totally use the one my dad gave me…it's like my new satin bonnet lol
I meant Does
Doea anybody remember Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice?
This is some ignorant ish. However, I bet the ad team that thought of this foolishness has someone Black who signed off on or came up with the concept.
i'm sorry….but this is HILARIOUS.
I'm so sick of stuff like this. The stereotypes are ridiculous and offensive.
Wait a minute… You're telling me I can get high AND feel sexy in my NEW Do-RAG???!!! I'm all over this!!! LMBO!!!
This is a disgrace. I hate being stereotyped!
Wow. There is so much truth in the comments above that I can't even begin to respond to them all. I saw the same pic on one of the forums yesterday and showed my husband and he too said that it had to be an altered photo b/c no corporation would be that insensitive. Today I saw a pic of a guy actually wearing one of the du rags. We have go to do better as a people. None of this can be done without "us" setting the precedence. About the shops in the hood…so true, also add check cashing places and rent-a-centers. Embarrassing. We have got to do better.
I wear a do-rag for about 15 min in the morning. You think McDonald's can start selling a Du-Wrap breakfast sammich??
I agree with Anon 12:37. Slipping a du-rug in with a bottle of gin doesn't make a lot of marketing sense since those products don't go together. I've seen shot glasses included with bottles of tequila and gin before, why not include one this time?
And it's likely that at least one person on Seagram's marketing or PR team is black. I doubt a lot of white people know or care about du-rags or what they've come to represent.
Ummm, that's a strange thing to give with a bottle of feel good. Why not a shot glass, or a coupon for something to mix that nasty mess with? I just don't understand the purpose behind it. It's like giving a free pantiliner with a bottle of shampoo. I guess people can use it but it doesn't seem to go together imo.
Are they trying to remind guys to keep their waves on swim by covering them up before they pass out on their baby mama's couch? I don't get it.
For all the people guessing about the ethnicity of the marketers, the current corporate brand manager for Seagram's Gin is a white female. I don't know the racial mix of the local marketing team in Michigan. In developing these types of promotions, the local teams will often talk directly with liquor store owners about what else their customers are buying in the store (i.e. non-liquor purchases.) No doubt a lot of liquor stores also sell du-rags so maybe this is how they came up with this.
I don't see nothing wrong with it…maybe they should of said 'silk/satin scarf'…I think some ppl make a big deal out of things…don't look at it or buy it….if Ciroc came with a du-rag then I don't think it would of been such an issue but because its seagrams and its lower priced, its a problem, and some ppl act like ciroc is the best thing since running water. Seagrams offered something their main consumers could use.
and PS i also am pretty sure the fols who came up with this brilliant marketing strategy, like the dude who approved the nivea ad with the afro head, were black.
anonymous 1216! Yesssss! I agree but I still think a complimentary doorag is pushing it.
im sorry i dont see how its racist to do marketing targetted to ur costumer. seriously do u think they would put a durag on there if negros wasnt buying this ish? we need to take an honest look at the black community in america today and get real. i just got done watching a video of 3 coons in ny beating up 1 latino dude for telling them to stop spitting on the train. this was all videotaped by some cackling black hyenas in the background. nobody tried to help the guy, nobody told the dudes to stop. they thought 3 cowards stomping 1 dude multiple times in the head was the funniest ish they had seen in a while and couldnt wait to post the foolishness on wshh. well now its on huffpost and the police is looking for them. if that were 3 white guys stomping a black dude some white tricks laughing we would be all up in arms right now marching and singing about we shall overcome. we need to get our act together and stop complaining about the man over foolishness like this cuz the man can never do as much damage to us as we do to oursleves every single day. fake outrage over dumb ish is for the birds.
Agreed, we are a self destructive people. This is sad and I bet there was a black person on the committe.
The statement made by Anonymous @ 10:16 a.m. that we are the most "self destructive people on the planet", I must agree. So many of us priorities are wrong and warped. I wish that we all did better and made better decisions with our lives, race and heritage.
A different point of view:
Please don't forget where we all came from. Black men have been wearing different variations of the "du-rag" since the 1940s from the era of the "process" or "conk" (chemically straightened hairstyles) all the way up to now. Most of us have a father, brother, boyfriend, husband, son, or even grandfather who wears (or used to wear) a stocking cap or du-rag at night. Are they "thugs"?
At some point, du-rags became associated with the imagery of dudes on the corner up to no good. If Black folks choose to internalize that negative stereotype instead of the reality that Black men of all ages and walks of life wear du-rags, then shame on us.
The fact is that the primary consumers of Seagram's Gin are Black folks in the hood (and not just so-called "thugs") and it is sold at liquor stores. In other words, this ain't some premium brand that is sipped at a club. The other fact is that many of the consumers of Seagram's Gin use du-rags. This promotion targeted those customers with a freebie that they may use regularly. That's Marketing 101.
Was this a creative, innovative promotion? No. Could Seagram's have come up with something better? Yes. Is it degrading? Not to me because I don't choose to embrace this negative tag that has been placed on du-rags.
that is sooo racist its not even funny i feel insulted by that
Nikki you are crazy! This is a mess.
As others have said, they wouldn't have thought this was a brilliant idea if so many melanin-enriched folks wouldn't trip over themselves to buy this mess. >_<
You know what makes me feel some kinda way? The phrase "some kinda way". I have started seeing that all over the place and it never made any sense to me. Everything makes you feel some kinda way. Shouldn't you know what that "way" is?
No way are they serious! smh
@Kimberly, #justsaying
lol!
@CURLYNIKKI, too funny! Red Soda!!!!!
Wonder if they taped an EBT card to the back of the bottle? LOL
LOL @ Anonymous 10:41. They would probably put the gold tooth in the bottle like the worm in a bottle of Mezcal.
Really Michigan?! RATCHET!!!! I guarandangtee that KY is on board too…. *dies slow*
anonymous 10:41, don't go bringing red soda into this. Red soda ain't do nothing to nobody, hahah!
What the duce?! Really?
They may as well have put a gold tooth and some red soda in that box too. PAthetic.
THIS is just stupid
Noooo waaay! This cannot be! *Looks for sign of Photoshop manipulation*….
Racism is alive and well…cue Ann Culter*
We must stop buying this foolishness in order for them to stop….feeling some kind of way is an understatement smh
Doesn't offend me at all. As already noted too many Black people will support this coonery.
And ita with Kimberly. In my Broklyn neighborhood the greezy rib joint stays packed, while the healthier food option next door does not have half the business. And those customers are often White. The Black owned bss that specializes in natural hair care-going out of business while the Korean bss is still going strong. Sometimes I think collectively, we are the most self destructive people on the planet. Thank goodness for online communities like this one, so I have instant gratification that I'm not overly sensitive.
Ad I also agree it was probably Black people in marketing who came up with this. What do White folx know about doorags-lol
all i can say it that sometimes i just wish we as black folks made better choices. i'm not saying all, but just the ones that might think this is "cool" in any way! just the fact that they think they can sell us that crap, and we'll buy it is embarrassing enough. *smh*
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And people say racism is dead.
lol @ CurlyNikki and rachet foolishness. I couldn't agree more!
I really hope that Seagrams based this "new approach" on serious market research and not racist perceptions of black men.
I agree with anonymous 9:59 completely. We have to change for this to stop. The problem is there is often no 'we' anymore.
Some kind of way is right. It confuses me how their marketing team came up with this and thought "yeah great idea"
Their wasn't one black person around to say "um guys, no"
Look at it this way: They're not marketing to ME but to the thug/hoodrat element because I'm NOT a thug/hoodrat neither do I wear do-rags!! HUMPH. Someone needs to put this bug in Al Sharpton's ear 😉
I think it's foolishness but we can't get upset at what we as African Americans support. You can guarantee someone is going to think "my liquor and a do-rag for one price. I'm buying it!". My model is "People will do to you only what you allow"; therefore, if we allow them to market in a way that degrades our race by purchasing the product, they will continue. Business is business and if African Americans are buying, they selling. We have to change in order for them to change.
Shocked and appalled! Who would buy this?
I mean really how ignorant is this..???
@ Serenity, I added a link with an image of a guy wearing the du rag. #whack
Is it wrong that I really have no strong feelings about this? Though I kinda agree with Kimberly 9:41
1st off Du Rags are a dollar at the Chinese hair supply found in any hood so noooooo this will not make their liquor more appealing to black people lol. No seriously this is ridiculous and shows their clear disconnect and pure ignorance of black people in general. It shows that they truly believe the stereotypes on television and market for such. @Kimberly black people couldn't have possibly come up with this idea because they would have automatically known its WACK!
We should boycott this shit.
This is some real ignorant, racist foolishness. What will really piss me off is if my people go buy the bottle just for the du-rag, then it will show that we support this stupidity. SMH!
people gonna buy it too!
*SMH* pure ridiculousness
You know what….this is pure dee foolishness at its best…….
They're playing us, I don't believe this is real. Who would be this insensitive?
What does the du-rag look like?
It's typical. Seagram’s is a cheap liquor and they're targeting African Americans hence the Du rag. The same reason why there's a liquor store, chicken shack and beauty supply store on every corner in the hood… that's what we'll support. Put a Starbuck's, Smoothie King or Jamba Juice in the hood, it'll shut down due to lack of business. It's sad but true. The marketing people that came up with the Du Rag idea for Seagram's are more than likely African American.
I agree this is rachet and racist.
smdh. Disgusting.
They're clearing marketing to black people. This is racist and a shame. Someone in marketing needs their butt kicked.
Wow! Is this really what it comes down to? This is sad. I wonder how many people will think that this is a great idea. Gin and a Du rag mix? Sorry, this is a bit disturbing.
What in the holy hell?! How racist.