Do you remember all the Colt 45 commercials featuring Billy Dee Williams back in the '80s? Well, get ready to start seeing a newly revamped alcohol campaign by the brand with new front man Snoop Dogg.
Snoop, the rapper whose popularity never seems to diminish, has been promoting Colt 45's newest drink, Blast, a fruit-flavored beverage with a 12 percent alcoholic volume.
The New York Times reports:
"Available in four flavors - grape, raspberry watermelon, blueberry pomegranate and strawberry lemonade - Blast joins the rapidly growing category of sweetened alcoholic beverages that go by many names, including flavored malt beverages and progressive adult beverages."
Alcohol-industry watchdog Marin Institute is not happy with the drink and has already started an online petition, titled "Stop Targeting Youth and Give Snoop the Boot":
"We have always considered them cocktails on training wheels. It's a way to bridge young consumers' fondness for juices and sodas to alcohol," says the Institute's Public Affairs Director Michael J. Scippa. And the group may have a point.
"A huge segment" of Snoop's fans are said to be underage, and obviously, colorful cans and bottles in addition to promotion on Twitter definitely skew toward a much younger demographic.
Parent company co-owner Daren Metropoulos, though, counters these youth-targeting claims:
"It's not like our distributors are putting it in the soda section, and these are clearly designated as an alcoholic product. We're not going to be showing up and selling this at schools or anything like that."
Sure.
But even beyond the age issue is the message.
While I usually don't want to be the one to knock anyone's hustle, I can't help but wonder what goes through Snoop's mind as a father and husband. I know he's been doing questionable things his entire career, but when is he going to grow up?
With two young boys and a beautiful girl, do we really need another alcohol endorsement that blurs the line for the kiddies? I know that we are in a tough economy, but surely he can do something more than the regular sick-ride-video-ho-cigar-in-hand number.
At the end of the day, we can't go around saying we love our daughters and wish the best for our sons, if we can't decide to take our agency and use it for empowerment rather than what comes easy or makes the most money.
How revolutionary would it be if Snoop decided to take his massive social media followings and teach?
What if he pulled on his own experiences and shared how he was able to beat the statistics and prosper? What if he was able to use his virtual pulpit to get gang banging black boys to put the guns down?
I'm not saying Snoop has never done anything for the children, but when we find ourselves in a very public position, we should use the opportunity to lift and grow and put taglines like Blast's "works every time" on its head.
Watch the video here: