In the spirit of binge drinking, I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts lately about one particularly interesting alcoholic beverage, Mike’s Hard Lemonade. I was at a friend’s house the other night, watching TV with a few other guys, when I suddenly had the urge for something to drink.
“You guys mind if I grab a beer?” I asked.
“We don’t have any beer,” Rob answered. “All we have is a few Mike’s Hard Lemonades that the girls left.” The room was silent for a moment; the testosterone council waited to cast judgment on my response. I feigned disgust and assured everyone that I would be fine just getting a glass of water. Everyone mumbled in agreement, until John spoke up with a bold statement: ‘I actually like Mike’s Hard Lemonade.” Within seconds, every guy in the room admitted to liking Mike’s Hard drinks, and we each enjoyed one, but agreed we would never order one at a bar because it was – yes, I’m about to say it – “bitch beer.”
This is fascinating on two levels. First, it says so much about gender roles, and how the image of a certain product can confirm or question a person’s masculinity or femininity. Second, it’s especially interesting to me that Mike’s Hard Lemonade consistently markets itself to guys, even though fruity, sweet alcoholic beverages are largely rejected and often ridiculed by men.
First of all, just look at the brand name. “Mike’s.” This is not Michael’s lemonade, and certainly not Mikaela’s lemonade, but Mike’s. I think we’re expected to identify Mike as a hardworking contractor or mechanic, with a deep voice and a big dog. If there was any doubt that Mike is a tough guy, we’re reminded that this drink is “Hard.” So after two seconds of breaking down the name, we can safely assume that this drink is aimed at men. However, the reality is that no matter how they run their marketing campaign, Mike’s Hard Lemonade will never be a manly drink. For your entertainment and hopefully some discussion, here are two commercials. In my opinion, one works well, and the other doesn’t.
Here, Mike’s tried to tackle the issue head-on. They understand men are hesitant to try the drink because they think its “girly,” and try to convey that there is a sort of sex appeal about drinking Mike’s Hard Lemonade. For me, it just reminds me that Mike’s is for girls, and does not for a second fool me into thinking that gorgeous bikini models would flirt with me if we both drank it.
In this commercial, they ignore the gender roles and present a simple truth: on a hot day, lemonade is more refreshing than dark, hoppy beer. With this commercial, alcohol is not a gender-affirming statement, but just something I can enjoy drinking.
So those are my observations about how gender roles and public perception can influence our opinions about what we choose to drink. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish my caramel frappuccino.
Will McQuain is a senior Business major, concentrating in Marketing and Non-profit Management. He hopes to work in marketing, or start a social business.
Will McQuain is a senior Business major, concentrating in Marketing and Non-profit Management. He hopes to work in marketing, or start a social business.
Will- this is great. I don't particularly care for either of these commercials. the first i'd agree loses in the credibility department. the second while better, probably won't get guys over the girlie drink hurdle even on a hot day. Lemonade for Grown Ups is also an interesting tagline that seems inconsistent with both spots. Don't you think? And finally, why do you suppose Mike's is trying so hard to target this product to men when the more likely target seems to be women? Prof J.
ReplyDeletehttp://manvertised.com/2010/08/01/mikes-hard-lemonade-those-kinds-of-issues-and-manly-reassurance/
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecea_nfZmpA
ReplyDelete-- This is one commercial that always gets me to laugh for some reason! It takes a similar approach in that men can use Mike's as some sort of babe magnet without fail. But I agree that this is an almost worn-out approach to target men with their product. I almost think your story from the other night would be a better commercial to target men, because it would show that men actually would drink it on their own! It would be almost like a "coming out of the Mike's Hard closet" kind of thing. Anyway, interesting stuff!
-Jackie S
Coincidentally, my 48-year-old dad brought a six-pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade to the WFU football tailgate yesterday morning. He had never tried the drink before, but justified his purchase by saying it was "too early to drink beer." While my dad is usually a die-hard beer drinker, he chose Mike's as a substitute in this situation.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting to note the other products Mike's makes in addition to lemonade. They have "Mike's Margarita," "Mike's Hard Tea," and "Mike's Crantini," which I think would all appeal more to women than men.
-Jacqueline Buff
If we created a perceptual map with femininity and masculinity on the x-axis, and fruity and non-fruity on the y-axis, then Mike’s Hard Lemonade would definitely occupy an extreme corner in the femininity and fruity quadrant. This positioning has helped Mike’s Hard Lemonade secure its designation as “chick beer.” The typical beer drinker is male, so I can see why the maker’s of Mike’s Hard Lemonade would take this information, and try to reposition the beverage as a more manly drink. The two manly men giving out Mike’s Hard Lemonade in a Tiki Hut is too subtle in attempting to make Mike’s Hard Lemonade appear manly. Changes that subtle cannot pass our differential threshold. These commercials do not make Mike’s Hard Lemonade appear any less feminine or any more masculine. The consumers cannot detect a difference.
ReplyDelete-Leigh Vogedes
These two commercials are great representations of operant conditioning. The first makes the claim that if you drink Mike’s Hard Lemonade you will be surrounded by beautiful, scantily-clad women. The women are of course the positive reinforcement to drink the lemonade. This is in line with a similar commercial they ran that made the same kind of conclusion about drinking Mike’s Hard Lemonade; that if you drink Mike’s Hard Lemonade you will get to be with all sorts of beautiful women. Obviously it only takes one time drinking Mike’s Hard Lemonade to realize this is not true, but the advertising blissfully ignores that point. The second commercial does a good job utilizing negative reinforcement. The main character in this ad is thirsty and wants to quench that thirst, a position I am positive we have all been in. What Mike’s Hard Lemonade does in this commercial is propose Mike’s Hard Lemonade as the superior choice to get rid of the negative stimulus. I personally believe this was a strong marketing stance to take since plain, old-fashioned lemonade is already the prevalent beverage of choice for quenching thirst on hot summer days. They are merely pointing out that their product is just as successful at removing the thirst and adds a little kick for the adults.
ReplyDeleteLink to other commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecea_nfZmpA&feature=related
-Michael Austin