Textappeal Blog

The News:

To promote edgy Devassa blond beer (“devassa” means “naughty” in Portuguese), the brand convinced Paris Hilton to be videoed partying non-stop for three weeks in Brazil.

Daily Youtube uploads got an enthusiastic following, and the event was amplified by media coverage of her more unguarded moments.

Devassa went on to produce a sultry TV commercial, with Paris in a short black dress, sensually rubbing a can of Devassa beer on herself, delighting onlookers who watch through her apartment window.

Behind the News:

While Brazil is known for its overt display of postage-stamp size bikini’s beaches, Devassa’s portrayal of a non Brazilian blond who is not on a beach, while relatively tame, broke cultural codes – and a local law which forbids associating beer with sensuality.

Actually many Brazilian beer ads feature woman in bikini, but they are always set on the beach. Brazil’s secretariat for Women’s Affair said ‘It’s an ad that devalues women-in particular, blond women. The problem is not a lack of clothing, but its sensual nature.”

The controversial buzz plays nicely into the brand’s goal of establishing itself as the naughty anti-establishment beer.

The News:

While “serious” brands such as Accenture and Gatorade dropped Tiger Woods like a hot potato when his extramarital affairs suddenly went public, the more edgy global footwear brand Nike took a calculated risk and stood behind him.

On the back of Tiger Woods’ emotional apology and return to the US Masters green, Nike aired a commercial that directly addresses his behavior and subsequent penitence. In the ad, the golf champion’s late father Earl returns from the dead and asks Tiger what he was thinking – and what he has learned.

Behind the News:

As experienced brand stewards know, use of celebrities in global advertising is a high risk – high reward proposition. In this case however, Nike’s risk is not as great as it seems.

Massive media coverage in the more English-speaking countries may have turned the champion into a temporary US brand liability, and Nike needed to address the issue head-on.

But in much of the rest of the world, where private life isn’t usually turned into a public affair, sex-scandal coverage simply raises awareness (as with Bill Clinton during his presidency).

As a brand that understands global markets well, Nike is well placed to reap rewards from the Tiger media reality show.