Marketing is everything these days. I recall when rockers were disdainful of lending their names to various products. That has changed. I guess we can blame Gene fucking Simmons for that: Kiss pioneered “extending its brand” by sticking its imagery on almost anything you could imagine.
I was interested to learn, however, that the ultimate first generation hippie band, the Grateful Dead, haslicensed its name andSteal Your Face logo to a winery.I’m less surprised to see Rolling Stones and Police related brands. When you open the latter, the voice of Sting tells you how great it is.
The Dead wine is steal you face red and I’m only marginally interested in trying it. It’s gotta be better than a touch of grey reisling or even worse, the wine the Dead are kinda sorta tied to via the title of this classic tune:
“Green herbal notes on the tongue give way to a bouquet of B.O. and bongwater … ”
I love the Dead. Love. And while their music was never really commercial, from the early 80s on, the Dead organization was as commercial as anything the Disney team dreamed up for Britney or Miley. They used their brand as well as Nike or Coke, and their pioneering use of the mailorder ticket thing was way ahead of the curve. I don’t begrudge it, but it should come as no surprise to find their logo turning up on various products.
Last fall, I picked up two bottles, one of the Police and the Pink Floyd… I was underwhelmed. Get an album from the half price books, frame it and it will money better spent.
I’m a wine-yes, but avoid all celebrity labels, including ones like Copolla or Greg Norman. At best you’re paying extra for the name, on one occasion — a Zinfandel with a label designed by Ralph Steadman — the wine was, well, awful.
The Dead have slapped their graphics on all sorts of stuff over the years, so I’m not all that surprised, but for a case of“We’re Only In It For the Money”:
I’ve got a couple bottles of “Kill Ugly Radio” and “Lumpy Gravy” beer on the shelf behind me.
The Coppolas are actually really good – not horribly priced (the Director’s Cut Cab and Merlot) are divine. Granted if you want a good full red that is a little chewy…you cannot beat Layer Cake’s “Primitivo” from Puglia…yummmmm! But Dearly Beloved’s “Forever Red” is pretty good. I scored a bottle of “Dia de los Merlot” the other day – haven’t opened it yet, but it was under $10 and has many good reviews.
Now that I’m going back into the workforce (it’s official) – my wine consumption will go up now that I’ll have an income to put that direction. 🙂 🙂 🙂