Marketing Faux Pas

Since I've been globetrotting, I've noticed specific distinctions in marketing. There are things you see in Paris, that you'd never see in the US. This jeans ad was bigger than life. Now, first, biting a gal's ass is generally frowned upon in public areas. This is in an airport... where kids walk by all day long. So there's no attempt to be anything other than 'in your face' sexual about these jeans.

In the UK and Paris, there are more television commercials that contain nudity and sexual innuendo. The more risque ones run at night, but still.

In Tunisia, you see some things that are completely unexpected. First, let me preface this by saying that liquor, beer and wine are hard to find. The stores that carry them are few and far between. Alcohol that we are used to being 'cheap' or plentiful is very dear, indeed. I'm guessing it's because they are imported. There is local wine and some kind of fig based aperitif (yech.)

In Carrefour the other day, I decided to buy some rum or vodka for mixed drinks. I should have bought them in the duty free shop in the airport, but I thought we had some at home. Apparently, I've been hitting those bottles, or the looters helped themselves. Who knows? They were down to just a few ounces, so I went into the liquor section to replenish my supply.

In the airport duty free stores, we see all the brands of liquor we are used to and the prices are reasonable; however, in Carrefour, they just have what they can get. Check out this brand of rum. I'm guessing that this rum is not imported into a lot of western countries...

We like some marketing. There are some things that appeal to me regardless of the country of origin.After posing for this picture, we continued our run through the Orly airport and thought about all the businesses we've seen with DH's name in them. There was "Bert's Dirts" in Austin, TX. I had to buy a t-shirt from them to immortalize the business within our family. I bought my son a t-shirt from Jake's Fireworks and I tried to get him a Jake's Burger Joint shirt from Phoenix. It's all in the name, baby.

I know that marketing is not a science. It's more like voodoo or witchcraft. Those people who are good at it, have some kind of 'feel' that others lack. It's hard to know what will catch people's attention and command their purchasing power.

Oh yeah. I bought that rum. That photo is taken in my living room. I had to pay $37 Tunisian dinar for that bottle and it was a third of the price of the only other brand available. So, while I can get worked up about marketing that is detrimental or insulting to some group of people, I have to admit that, for me, price is still the defining reason why I purchase something. I can put a bag over this, or apply some duct tape to the bottle. I could even decant it into something else if I'm feeling offended. I'm guessing the more I drink, the less insulted I'll feel.

Around the world, there are all kinds of people trying to sell a product. If they are able to sell it, they won't change their branding. I guess I know I'm not helping when I buy a product like this, but sometimes you just need a rum and coke. Know what I mean?

--Sandee Wagner