March 30, 2007
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Spykes
A new alcholic beverage, “Spykes,” is being criticized for being marketed to kids.
The beer is packaged in colorful and small bottles. The price will be cheaper because of the smaller bottles. The coordinator of the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, Judi Vining, said “It’s the perfect drink for a child.” Here is the link: Link
Does colorful and small packaging make the beer targeted toward underaged users?
Comments (134)
no.
Uhhhh, not like they’ll find a way to get any alcohol they want anyway.
-Isaac
for god’s sake; i’m almost two years over legal drinking age, and i’d still go for colorful packaging.
no!!!
A little maybe. I saw this article on MSN.com homepage and just knew that you would post about it.
besides, a kid who wants to drink alcohol isn’t going to get lured in by colorful packaging. the kid’ll be lured in by the liquor itself.
Not necessarily. (my deep answer there)
uh, yeah. but kids will get beer any way they can even if it isn’t colorful or small.
Yes. They’re easier to hide too.
I’m 23… and I like colorfully packaged items. Who says that adults have to consume things out of boring packaging?!? Ridiculous
I don’t think so… Teens want to act grown up so they would go for something more “adult” looking, IMO…
I think 20-something women are the only ones who would drink these…
Being brightly colored doesn’t mean it’s package for kids. Uh, adults are attracted to bright colors too. Idiots.
No, it’s just targeted to people who lack class.
no. besides we have laws against underage drinking doesn’t that market to kids even more then what color bottles they are?…
I think it’s more targetted at women…
not necessarily. it would more or less just make the drink more appealing externally… for kids or adults. adults are attracted to bright colors, kids are attracted to bright colors. no way getting out of that one.
Anyone who has studied marketing would tell you that colors play a huge role in audience. These bottles are small (nail polish size), easy to hide, and mixed with an energy drink. I’d say this is reckless.
Any thing that is prohibited will attract kids; you don’t have to package it up colorfully for it to do so. But it probably doesn’t help matters.
erm, wow, that’s ridiculous. the people arguing against the product, i mean
the thought of drinking chocolate or fruit flavoured beer makes me gag….
‘Judi Vining, said “It’s the perfect drink for a child.”‘
How’d she get a job at CPUD while advocating children drinking?
if i were a kid, i’d prefer to hide a half-mickey o’ rum in my purse than those nauseating things.
For crying out loud! What about St Ides Special Brew. The flavors and colors of my favorite ghetto sludge are themed from the quarter juice of grade school.
Tropical flavor which is windex blue, and stronger than beer.
For kids, OH THE HUMANITY!
It’s a stretch, but if you look at it through her perspective… I can understand her concern.
And yeah, it makes it more appealing to kids…who are like 6.
No company in their right mind would target their marketing towards people who can’t even legally pay for their product to the neglect of their largest demographic. Evidently they think this will appeal to a lot of people.
[If I get a post about how cigarettes are marketed to young people, I'm going to do a /palmface.]
hahaha no, it doesn’t. maybe more to chicks, though.
No. This is kind of kitsche-cool, though kids may like it if the law still works they won’t be able to buy it ’til they’re 16.
or whatever in the states.
Cheers,
m
Anyone else find it incredibly lame that the picture of the woman drinking it has her doing it without putting it up to her mouth? I guess otherwise we wouldn’t be able to figure out that it’s red and “sexy.” I wish women tried being seductive by drinking like that in real life. That’d make for some good laughs.
No more than the colorful crack rocks packaged in cartoon packaging.
That’s horrible advertising. Lady looks like she’s drinking nail polish.
Hmmm…
the fact that she said it’s a “perfect drink for a child” can be taken out of context for whatever add campaign people want…and it wouldn’t be wrong.
Why not label it not for kids.
it just makes it more appealing in general, I think. although I personally do not drink.
That’s not beer!!! This is BEER
I’m thirsty.
No, why can’t us adults have something that is fun and colorful? We are not all boring you know.
… people just need to stop being so uptight.
It’s not like they can get it easily anyway. And if they could, then it’s not the problem because then they could get all kinds of other alcoholic beverages the same way.
Perhaps it is directed towards closet drinkers with colorful personalities? That could include children.
You know how I am about color, so No, I don’t think it makes teens the target market, but I’m sure it would look more appealing to teens than the standard type of packaging.
anything’s possible….
not necessarily. I mean, I can’t read the mind of the advertizers, but I would suspect that mostly the bright colours are there to make it stand out rather than to market it to kids.
Are you kidding me? Who else is this going to appeal to besides younger women?
And while officially the appeal might be directed towards the legal crowd, these same things almost always appeal to the non-legal crowd. At best, this is an unintentional side-effect but there is little chance that the AB is not aware of this possibility. So much so to the point, that one could argue that AB is in effect targeting underage people as well.
Is this board full of marketing 101 flunk outs?
I love the “It’s a perfect drink for a child” quote.
btw, it’s not beer.
not sure I would use the word “child” but I sure would use the words “kid” and/or “teen”.
So are they selling these things in the cereal aisle at Wal-Mart? Don’t you need to be 21 to even go into a liquor store, or is that just in my state?
Looks more like it’s targeted at women to me.
Uhhhh, not like they’ll find a way to get any alcohol they want anyway.
-Isaac
Posted 3/30/2007 12:51 PM by IsaacRW
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!
I don’t think so, because most underage users want to “look” older
NO…. Curiosity…and word of mouth does…
I think this will appeal to people who like to drink nail polish…that’s what it looks like.
Well, for one, I AM underage, and that doesn’t appeal to me, and I imagine, to most others. That might appeal to REALLY young people, but people those young are even less likely to be able to acquire it. I don’t think it will last long. Adult users want a real beer, and kids who want those aren’t able to buy them.
-David
Its feasable (sp?) Would be a hot commodity for high school kiddos etc, but packaging aside, most teens go to parties and drink …
no.
no..
it sorta looks like travel sized mouth wash
no. everybody likes things that are small, colorful, and simple-esque these days.
They kinda look like bottles of aftershave….
ok..as far as I understand…that has been out for a while…and it made the news for this same reason a few years ago…. maybe its just me….. but what about wine coolers?…i mean those are always in colorful packages…. and i know kids ask their parents for a sip….. i mean come on…. if kids want to get alcohol…they will find a way….. i dont think bright colors is gonna “make” kids want to drink….
They look more like perfume bottles…
No. When I look at those bottles, I don’t think of kids. They still are sophisticated looking even if they are brightly colored. It’s not like it’s a Squeeze-It bittle. People need to calm down and stop freaking out about every little thing.
*bottle not bittle. ha.
um..colorful packaging never encouraged my underage drinking..it was all about the fact of drinking alcohol..
Wow I feel like I read the news twice as much after reading your blog. Because you always post the most recent MSN news too!
this would be just as appealing to a child as a tall crystal clear bottle of grey goose.
oh and they look like nail polish bottles so it doesn’t seem that appealing at all.
omg, they look like bottles of cologne! how cute!
i also am in love with those tiny serving size cans of soda.
zOMG they’re adorable!
No…a lot of drinks are sold like that. Haven’t these peopled stepped into a liquor department lately??
Yeah … Kids seem to like colorful things.
Do adults really care about the colorfulness and size of their beer? No. But it’s definitely a stretch to say it’s targeting kids. Companies want to make money, not a point. It’s not good marketing business to target underaged kids, obviously.
good lord! laudry detergent is in colorful packaging too. people make way too big of a deal about stuff like this. underage kids are going to drink, and the way our society is, a lot of them will do so irresponsibly. this is why i keep saying we need to reform the way we teach our children drinking and eliminate the drinking age altogether. and so ends my rant.
I checked out Spykes website. Their intended target audience is co-ed 21-27 beer and shot drinkers. It’s not beer. You ADD IT to a beer or beverage of your choice.It’s got caffine and ginseng in it.It’s only 12%.
They’re hoping young adults will add it not just to beer but it works well as a mixer for vodka drinks, adding flavor and color. Who knows.. I know vodka mixers are pretty popukar down here..
According to the website, it tested well in Florida.
no, that’s absurd.
it’s the buzz that atracts kids to alcohol…
lol
*HUGS*
Stupid kids.
No
The question you asked: Yes
But should that really matter? And just because it appeals to them, was that their goal.
Go watch “Thank you for Smoking”
Underage, women, and circuit parties.
You know what I thuoght when I looked at those?
Perfume.
Isn’t perfume a kids product?
Well some teens will wear it sure, but is as much FOR ADULTS as any.
I don’t see why an alcoholic beverage has to be bland. That’s just crazy, why not just go out and say you’re against alcoholic beverages period.
Maybe a colorful alcholic beverage will bring cheer to the eyes of the drinker, they’ll be so happy that they need less to drink.
The world is too depressing. We need color. Why do people find Spring alot more happy time then spring? well the colors—green instead of brown withered grass or white snow, the leaves. . .all that helps. So long as it’s clear on the product itself that it’s an ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE then it’s fine.
Why, I’ve been at the store and picked up some product–that had beer in it, some food—and I think it might have had beer in it’s title, but you know. . .it certainly wasn’t being treated the same way as a bottle of beer. . .
If we don’t have a problem with that, aren’t more stringent with selling foods with beer in it. . .then how can we have a problem with the above?
Why, I remember elementary school. . .staying at a friends place. . .and they’re mom made home-made bread. . .and one of the recipe’s had a little beer added, you know like a teaspoon or something small lol for flavor or whatever but you know, beer the same.
We should focus on something like that then the packaging. . .because you’ll still have to be 21 to legally purchase, right?
So even if worst comes to worse and some kid picks it up, when they get to the cashier they’ll find they can’t purchase it. Which they’ll probably already have realized if they know how to read!
it looks like nail polish to me.
what about the tiny serving sizes of liquor sold to airlines? They aren’t meant for kids so the answer in No. However, maybe college kids will learn about more appropriate serving sizes.
As for the smaller bottles?
That means if someone finishes a whole bottle, they’re going to get less drunk then they would had they consumed a BIGGER BOTTLE.
Of course, if someone really wants they can get another bottle. . .still, portion sizing does wonders.
I think people should take an example from this company, instead of criticizing it.
How sad is it that i had a stressful day at work and now am craving said alcoholic delight?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16815536/
Nope. It’s to be more “European”
People shouldn’t just assume that all alchol and tobacco companyies are evil
“Spykes” sounds a lot like spyking a bowl of punch at a high school prom…
pretty… darn those evil beer people.
How cute!
no
Yes, I think so.
I one time saw a ad about cigarettes and it showed that kids more drawn to the lime green/light pink packaging than adults were. And when I mean kids, not five year olds-like 15 year olds..
It’s not worth the risk.. Anything that makes something like that even the smallest amount appealing should not be made.
GREAT video!!
GREAT video!!
No, I think lots of people are attracted to bright colors, not just kids. And even if they are, it doesn’t matter. It’s not illegal; they’re not selling it to underage kids.
Does a chihuahua bark?
2 ounces
even for a small kid I don’t think that would be enough to be legally drunk
wine coolers are fruity flavors in nice packaging but in much larger bottles and kids could get drunk on those
and if they wanted to hide something in a purse or whatever I don’t think those bright colors would hide well
most kids would vodka in a water bottle and carry it out in the open even
if teens-20 are going to drink, these would be the better choice with the lower alcohol content and overall smaller drink
Yeah…
Kids who are like 4.
OOOHH! Pretty colors, I’m gonna buy some. Yeah… right. They wouldn’t even be in the store without mommy.
I think younger kids would be more likely to be attracted to it, but I wouldn’t say it was aimed towards them. Of course, the kids who would be young enough to just say, “Ooooooh… pwitty…” you’d have to be about six kinds of dumb to sell it to them.
That ri-god-dmaned-diculous.
They’re just dying for an edge to slam the alcohol industry.
Hello? Do they know about asking about ID if they’re capable of buying this shit? They could put it in the back of the counter since is small.. please… people can’t be jackasses!
Honestly I can see both sides.
I don’t necessarily see it being marketed for underage drinkers. However I can see it apealing more to them.
Small and easy to hide.
Truly alcholic beverages are not legally sold to underage yet those buyers always can find away.
The size is a definate appeal to those plus anyone else looking to hide it.
Who else is reminded of Carrie Underwood’s song “Before he cheats”? He buys her some fruity little drink ’cause she can’t shoot whiskey.
At least I can shoot rum. I hate the taste of beer.
it doesn’t look kiddish to me. now if it was in a sippy cup… thennnn i might agree.
Not really.
Define child. When I think of child, I think of elementary aged kids. Did you mean high school aged? Probably… but HS kids are gonna get alcohol anyway. They dont need smaller prices or colorful bottles to lure them in.
Apparently kids are the only people that enjoy pretty colors.
I can see how someone that is younger could think it was some type of juice drink, but I doubt the color packaging will actually get in their hands, in most cases.
if what they say is true… then they should make all alcoholic beverages come in 4 litre bottles in colors of brown, green, grey, white, or black
Of course it does.
That’s stupid, for many reasons. First, “children” who drink mostly drink to get that air of maturity. So why would they drink out of something that looks like nailpolish I used when I was five? Also, the “market” isn’t the problem – well, okay, yeah it sort of is, but parents are responsible to some extent aren’t they? If they let their CHILDREN get these little fun bottles.
hello…just stopped by.
it depends how they market the product really. just looking at how the packaging is created it looks like they were trying to be big city trendy….but instead i could see girls between 16-23 going for this. (think wine coolers). if that’s the crowd they are going for, they may have a chance. otherwise they have better have a wicked ad campaign that somehow makes these types of drinks seem “macho” because i think that is going to be a hard sell. i mean come on…what are martini’s and the like called? “girly drinks”.
the logo and the colors just doesnt not go together…
i seriously think that red bull did so well is because they made their packaging look like a beer. silver, simple. its small and it works without being “kiddish”. the bull logo. its very masculine. very strong. they use a lot of sports and such to advertise.
gosh i would love to look like i’m drinking nail polish! yay. like that alone wont catch any attention let alone that there is alcohol in it. jesus.
its not just to kids. Colors attract anyone and catch their eye. It appeals to the sensces. It’s maybe aimed for younger people and of course kids will be drawn. but i agree with others no matter what if the kid wants beer theyll get it. silly kids
I don’t know but it sure doesn’t make me interested in drinking it. Blech!!
aww! cute! i love pretty bottles…i don’t make it a habit to drink, but those sierra mist bottles are pretty too, but i dunno if they taste as good as they look
No more than users that are at the proper age.
A solution: sell nail polish in beer bottles.
lmao i like the way they look… does it taste like kool-aid .. if so count me in!!!!!
and answer to ur question NO …. have u looked at the Skyy Vodka bottle ..or the super high priced shit … the bottle itself is cool looking
wow thats nuts!
just cuz its colorful and small doesnt mean its for kids.
… its for college.
they are planning to sell it at like 2 to 3dollars for one.
No. Most kids don’t want beer.
Dude. This is not good.
YES
haha so adults only like the black and white large give-it-all-to-me-now things that are found in alcohol stores?
Ehh…..usually small and colorful is for little kids, not just underage kids that will be able to drink in the next year or two.
i don’t know…looks like nail polish to me
I’m 21 and if I drank I think I would try them because of their colorful packaging but that’s just me. I guess I think like a child.
There are a lot of alcoholic bevrages that are small and colorfull. Even Chocolate carmel and strawberry flavored. Ok what kid doesnt like chocolate? if they are going to draw the line at these new drinks. It kinda un-fair to me.
Besides, even if it did seem as if it was marketed to kids, who would let them buy it?
please. Im 16 and I wouldn’t drink that pussy shit. Im sipping on a 5th of Bacardi superior. Little bottles and bright colors? Sound like they’re more for show than anything. It probably wouldn’t get me drunk.lol.
hahaha no. i know this by experience.. lots of.. um… exposure..
I would say that colorful drinks are more likely to attract those who are underage, but that, I would argue, is simply a side effect. It is targeted to the consumer of any age.
I don’t know very many young people, underage or not, who would chose pretty and weak (and realtively expensive) to cheap and strong when it comes to alcohol. I’m probably the target audience for wine coolers/Smirnof/Mike’s Hard Lemonade (20 something woman) but even this doesn’t appeal to me that much- add it to beverages? Why? Take it like a shot? It’s got the same alcohol content as wine. Who does shots of wine? Maybe it’s particularly tasty-although chocolate malt beverage? Eew. So, I guess my point is that it seems mostly pointless, and far too small to do much harm. Kids who drink underage are a little stupid sometimes, but most of them are smart enough to know that this isn’t worth the the trouble-plenty of things are just as pretty and pack a real punch.
you can get drunk to fall asleep.
definately. isn’t candy colorful and put into small packages?
i agree with the people who say, if the kid wants it their going to get it either way. the packaging doesnt really matter. where there is a will there’s a wayyy. so that’s all there is to it. the packaging is just a bonus.
hey … how is going? haven’t spoke to you for a while
oh now that’s just wrong. Kids are attracted to alcohol enough as it is!
Well, they are colorful.
but, It’s not like the actual thought process of a kid is “Oh, gee, that’s colorful! I’ll drink that for that reason only and without thinking of any concequences!”
It’d be mroe like, “Oh! Gee, that’s alchoholic and I’m not supposed to, so I will!”
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It is like that cigarette commercial…colorful cigarette packages attracted more children and practically no adults. Therefore, yes.