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Once again as a case in point, let's do some analysis.
GRMn which many people have had the occasion to use or are aware of out wit earnings. All numbers and facets of the business are DOWN across the board. Dilted EPS down a whopping 44% but yet...yet...yet the stock is flying...and up 42% for the year because these results "handily" beat analyst's revised estimates AND they are guiding slightly higher on a turnaround in the business off the economic downturn.
So, you produce ugly numbers and your stock is up 130% off its yearly lows. You produce ugly numbers and the stock flies on the implications for the future. You produce ugly numbers and the street applauds the fact they weren't as ugly as they thought they would be.
All the result of a filing today and the "talk" and "implications" for the future.
The argument that DKAM can only be measured by what is in the filings from months ago continues as it always has to hold no water as it does for thousands of other companies.
Time to dispense with the frivolity and the utter just plain wrong....
As of the last filing for DKAM, there were 86,582,904 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.
Since that ending date of Jan 31, 2009, the following has occurred:
In March 2009 we issued 350,000 shares of Company stock in consideration for settlement of a Note Payable in the amount of $500,000 . This is a huge deal for DKAM. $500K settled for about $70K. (Get your calculators out. Toes aren't enough in this case. 350K +)
On March 12, 2009 the Company granted an aggregate of 5,812,000 options under its 2008 Stock Incentive Plan to various employees, the directors of the Company, and to a consultant to the Company. (Plus zero...no shares issued)
Also on March 12, 2009 the Company granted 1,175,000 shares of its common stock under the Plan to several of its employees as consideration for past services they have performed for the Company. (Never hit the balance sheet before now...and they took shares. Go team! +1,175,000)
On March 1, 2009 as consideration for extending a note the Company issued the lender 286,623 shares of Company common stock. (Peanuts for free money during the worst economic crisis in this country's history +286,623)
Options are just that...options. They are not issued and outstanding stock. They are restricted and have exercise prices.
The company included $188,000 on its balance sheet for issuing stock under the SIP which completely negates any dilutive factor on this issue. The company did as is proper and recoreded it as non cash employee compensation.
Therefore, as the filing indicates, the company has issued an aggregate 1,811,623 additional shares from those actions where stock was issued exclusive of options related activity, have made offsetting transactions for $188,000 on the issue of those shares, and saved the company $430,000 to pay down a previous debt.
Further, 500,000 shares were issued to a consultant firm and are being amortized over the life of the agreement. (Amortized and equally written off on the balance sheet...no dilution but still added to the OS shares)
Further, there is a limit of 10,000,000 options in the DKAM SIP. To date, 6,987,000 options have been granted and a resulting 1,811,623 shares have been issued to various employees and consultants for services they have performed for the company in the past and have been listed above previously. This has also been included in the current outstanding shares. These shares upon issue, are restricted, and not currently available for sale.
As a provisionary clause to the June 2009 Financing, the company converted 461.73 Series A Preferred Shares into 4,617,250 common shares to five members of the December 2007 Financing that are not outstanding, nor will they be outstanding, unless the price of DKAM stock trades above 35 cents 9 months after the June 2009 Financing closes. To date, that financing has not closed.
The company issued 600,000 shares to CEOCast in consideration for services performed. (To date, they have been present and involved more than any IR firm to date)
Therefore, as of this date, DKAM has issued and outstanding, per their SEC filings and subsequent 8-K filings, 89,494,527 shares. The company has saved shareholders $430,000 and amortized an additional 500,000 shares, as well as properly recording the offsetting transactions on its balance sheet to adequately reflect the issuance of shares.
Just keeping it real. And the reality is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion on whatever they choose to chime in on....professional or just to hear themselves speak.
Kid Rock at Jones Beach...
That's why they are called opinions.
http://www.examiner.com/x-1854-NY-Hard-Rock-Music-Examiner~y2009m8d3-Free-Bird-10-Minutes-of-Electric-Guitar-Euphoria-at-Jones-Beach
A plethera of videos:
TRMPQ is soaring. Like I said before, if you want your stock price to go higher, file for BK, or emerge from BK, or be any other stock with diminishing sales, or prospects for sales being years away, or accept billions of dollars, or take on so much bailout money that you won't be profitable for 200 years.
You wouldn't dare want to release the single best beer introduction in two decades.
The DKAM video counter appears to be stuck. It looks like it is a pervasive problem on YouTube. They say it is to prevent "auto" counters from artificial numbers.
Hopefully it will correct itself. I've watched it three times myself!
Love that Elephant!
Oh, no doubt we're on the same page there.
Better yet...DTG from .60 in March to over $17
Or FUQI from $3 to $26
Or JAZZ from .51 to $7+
You just don't wait. It can change for DKAM overnight. And will.
I would not be surprised one bit....
To see a buyout offer for Drinks at any time with the market cap being this low just on the implications for BadAss beer alone.
Remember, these beverage guys don't want to overpay. So, even buyout candidates try to scoop on the cheap too!
C'mon..argue with me..from all the NON beverage people here that it cannot happen.
Buyout fever is in the air yet again! As if it ever left....
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/report-pepsi-reaches-deal-to-buy-bottlers-2009-08-04?siteid=bnbh
Finally!
Somebody was able to download the TV commericals that are being used all over the country for the R&R Tour...
Kid Rock's Talks Stadium Spectaculars, Confirms Gayness of Twitter
July 31, 2009 9:50 AM
We caught up with Kid Rock yesterday, who told us that wherever he goes, people are screaming "Twitter is gay"!!!
If you have no idea what we're talking about, here's the story: In the last issue of Rolling Stone -- with MJ on the cover --- we did a Q+A with Kid, in which we discussed his huge summer tour, and his two humongous gigs at Detroit's Comerica Park.
We were (and still are) highly annoyed by the Twittering phenomenon. We think Twittering is retarded.
When we asked Kid Rock about it, he summed it up perfectly. "Twitter's fucking gay," he said. We're so glad to hear that the word is spreading, and random folks are screaming that at him.
Moving on...
Yesterday, Rock told us about his gigs at Comerica, during which he pulled out all the stops to celebrate his hometown. "There was a classic car show," he says. "And I'd peek out the wiindow in my bus and see motorcycle jumpin' off ramps. For the weekend it looked like Detroit was a thriving city. People were downtown, there was all sorts of horseshit going on. It was great! It felt bigger than me, and I really believe it was.
Rock killed the crowds with a hit parade, and threw in a few special numbers. Near the top of the set was a cover of the Stone's "Tumblin' Dice." "I'd never done it before," he says. "I just wanted wanted to learn those crazy fuckin' lyrics."
Closing the show was "Born In the U.S.A." "The chorus of that song and the situation down in Detroit... it took on another meeting," he says. "As tough as times are, we're still very fortunate to live in the greatest country on earth. I thought it gave everyone a sense of hope. And, you know, we did a much heavier version, and turned it up to fifteen. We had fireworks going off. But it's all about the song."
But the show-stopper was the debut of Kid's new tune, "In Times Like These." The hard-hitting social commentary is an ode to Detroit, and as images flashed behind the stage of the highs and lows of Motor City, many in the crowd got choked up. "It was really emotional," he says. "My son was out by the soundboard, and he told me that people were crying."
The events also marked the first time Kid Rock's new Badass Beer was consumed by the public. "All the reactions have been good. People say it doesn't have any aftertaste and it's refreshing. The whole Budweiser thing is 'Drinkability,' but my whole thing is 'Slamability.'"
Rock adds, "Twitter's still gay."
Well, I will never wait that long. I spoke to THREE distributors in MI to get their take on this whole thing and asked them point blankly. All THREE came back with about the same conclusion. MBC will need more outsourcing capabilities. They feel the beer, based on their years of experience, will yield $20-$50 million in annual sales just in MI alone.
PK is no stranger to this game. I would bet that outsourcing was already done when Kid insisted on a MI brewery to put people in MI to work.
And I got slammed for calculating numbers for the beer before I even spoke to them.
Oh well, life goes on and "we're still going to fill f*ckloads of orders."
No, not what I am saying. I've been through this before. MBC makes the beer and is going non stop now making the beer. We buy the beer from MBC after it is made, in journal entry form only. The beer ships directly from MBC to the distributors. The distributors dole it out from there to their customers.
What we do NOT know, and perhaps should be asking on next week's CC, is;
Do we pick up the shipping costs to the distributors? We probably do since even though the product is not being physically shipped to us, but it is being sold to us. Pretty good deal for MBC considering they don't have to do any billing.
Is Kid's cut factored into the manufacturing or the distributing?
My guess is it's a factor of both. Kid receives royalties on the back end of sales that are born in some contractual percentage by both DKAM and MBC.
He wouldn't know but I do. Standard margins of 28%-30%. So, on $50 million in sales, the GP is $15 million. They have no inventory to buy and hold. It is bought, shipped, and billed immediately.
Kid Rock issues guidance on BadAss Beer.
"We have f*ckloads of orders and no one's even tasted it yet."
Kid Rock & Rolling Stone (F*ck Drinkability..we've Got Slamability)
Angry Ape:
http://angryape.com/news/kid-rock-launches-his-own-badass-beer-brand
S.F. Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=44818
"F*ckloads Of Orders": (Our new guidance?? LMAO!)
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/kid-rock-tastes-success-with-new-badass-beer_1111617
Michigan Beer Tax Increase:
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/08/proposed_increase_of_michigan.html?FORM=ZZNR2
All Roads Lead Back To Beer:
http://www.freep.com/article/20090803/COL22/908030316/1048/SPORTS?FORM=ZZNR5
So, What The Verdict on the Beer?
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/detroit/index.ssf/2009/07/so_whats_the_verdict_on_kid_ro.html
This probably accounts for alot of the negativity and the price action for a long, long time....at least since the beginning of March. Funny how the prices are so close to the same. The markets love to illegally kill anything he touches. First DJT, then TRMP. Shows their stupidity that they think DKAM is his company.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/donald-trump-bnac-to-buy-trump-entertainment-2009-08-03-2330380?siteid=bnbh
Some big differences though. It got to THREE cents, from which it rebounded to .22...a 7 bagger. It is LOSING well over EIGHT DOLLARS A SHARE. You can have all the sales in the world, but if you are losing EIGHT dollars a share, your stock goes nowhere. Well, it goes to .145 cents AND IN BANKRUPTCY....exactly where DKAM is NOT IN BANKRUPTCY and losing a mere 6 cents a share.
Awesome Boston! Great find!
I especially like the theatrics of the intro music and Kid's little touch. This country needs to have one big tailgate party!
Our new iconic product.
How much are these bubbles worth??
Could make for some really "badass" beer
http://www.breitbart.tv/did-tv-microphone-capture-very-loud-tiger-woods-fart-on-18th-fairway/
The TOUR was in MI. He must have enjoyed that case of Badass Beer that Bobby sent to his suite.
Actually, I did overstate slightly. Sales for last year were $1.5 million for ICNB. Sales last quarter were $89,000.
So, at that rate, the stock is trading at 59 times current sales.
Go team!
This is pretty funny. Somebody posted ICNB last week. Now there's a joke for ya. DeVito Limoncello? Siragusa's YO?
Stock is up huge today. Good volume.
Just a couple problems.
1 mil in sales. Losing 17 cents per share. Price to Sales ratio of 21~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And that REAL problem yet again....federally bonded warehouses. Company owns nothing.
All things being equal, DKAM should be $1.50.
But, they aren't are they.
Now I see why. No message boards anywhere.
Last night in Tampa.....
Yet another complete sell out.
I'm thinking there's no earnings and CC tomorrow. The company always puts out a PR beforehand. They have until the 15th on an Annual Report. I would expect the delay so they can talk effectively about the Q1 '10 results also if asked. Also, the beer bottles should be coming online at the same time.
This has to be their busiest time ever. It's all old news anyways so anybody that is concerned about April at this point would be better suited to head to the landfill to start redecorating their trailer.
I personally hope it's their worst quarter ever because we already know July 31 end is hugely better, and I would expect this current quarter to easily be the best in company history. So, therefore the quarter on quarter and year over year results will be that much greater in percentage terms to sustain the big price run up to the upside.
Nice try. Not me. The owner of a business south of Detroit that is selling the heck out of Badass. He got his first keg Friday afternoon and it was gone Friday night.
Just added Badass locations All 3:
http://3nicks.com/
Looks like another dead soldier!
Right click and Bing will give automatic translation
Bigtime...
A twofer...
Here is who is doing MBC's website and ours behind it.
Anybody look familiar? Only the best clients
http://www.mediatemple.net/company/clients/
Olifant?
http://ask.metafilter.com/105874/What-are-the-best-liquors-for-the-money
Olifant vodka is very smooth, and a great value for the price -- less than $15 for 750 ml. We'd never heard of it till recently (it's from Holland) until the guy at our regular liquor store recommended it.
http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=204015&page=2
Wow, it looks like today has taken a downward spiral from remedial to beyond the depths of ridiculous. Kinda funny when you have to educate the "so called" media!
Here is the verbage from the press release:
Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd. (OTC BB: DKAM - News) (“Drinks Americas” or the “Company”) announced today that the Olifant Vodka brand, supported by the Blazed and Confused Tour featuring Snoop Dog and Slightly Stoopid is driving distributor year over year sales growth in current markets(This would be C U R R E N T....M A R K E T S) and that additional markets are rolling out the brand as a result of the increased awareness the thirty two city concert series is creating.(This would be A D D I T I O N A L....M A R K E T S on a broad scale nationwide since the concert series is coast to coast.)
Jack McKenzie, Drinks Americas’ Vice President National Sales, said, "Retailers are impressed with the support. We have added California, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and Nevada as Olifant markets.(These have been I D E N T I F I E D as Olifant markets where the process is underway to put Olifant in those markets and beef up its presence if it is already there.) These are all concert markets where we did not sell Olifant this time last year. (It doesn't say we are selling it now either. But we will as soon as every approval comes through, which we did not have last year! Plus! We have placed some since this time last year We are now collecting our second wave of orders from distributors.(In order to be a distributor, WE HAVE TO BE APPROVED IN THAT STATE. THIS IS A NATIONWIDE STATEMENT) We believe that Olifant sales are trending up more than 40% at the distributor level.” (In order for sales to be trending up 40% from distributors, they have to already have a presence in other states. This statement makes no reference to the states that have been identified out West. It draws to the states where we have previously reported $1.4 million in sales. Therefore, it is WITH MERIT AND PROPER DUE DILIGENCE TO BELIEVE THIS STATEMENT MEANS THAT CURRENT DISTRIBUTOR SALES ARE UP OVER $500,000.
FURTHER, THE STATEMENTS ALSO SUGGESTS WITH MERIT AND PROPER DUE DILIGENCE THAT THE ADDITIONAL STATES THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED WILL ONLY ADD TO A FURTHER INCREASE IN SALES FOR OLIFANT AS EACH STATE COMES ON LINE
We thank you for participating in our little exercise. And thank you for pointing out that over and above the additional $500,000 in sales that the initial PR indicated, we can expect EVEN GREATER SALES from the success of the Blazed and Confused Concerts....especially in the Western States where Olifant has had little or NO presence before now.
Darn. I guess we better get cranking asking all these guys to give their money back. And of course, each company would be obligated to give the sales revenues back also. Especially since YOU feel it can't happen. Amazing all these references to sporting events, sports stars, and beer, and beer advertising.
Beer and Television:
Perfectly Tuned In
by Carl H. Miller
When Advertising Age magazine released its picks for the best 100 ad campaigns of the 20th century, it was no surprise that the world of beer advertising was well represented. After all, few can forget Bubba Smith and Dick Butkus arguing that eternal debate, "Tastes Great--Less Filling." Likewise, many a beer drinker can still whistle that infectious jingle, "Hey Mabel--Black Label," though the popular television commercials have not aired for 30 years. So, what made these and other classic beer commercials great?
Surely, from the beer maker's standpoint, a commercial's success can ultimately be judged by only one criterion: its impact on beer sales. But, we, the oft-jaded viewers, take a more visceral approach. More and more, we tend to grade commercials on their ability to, if only in passing, penetrate our popular culture. At their best, we induct them into our collective psyche, muse over them with friends and coworkers, and even add their lingo to our vocabulary (can you say "Whassup?").
Beer makers have been searching for the perfect beer commercial nearly since television exploded onto the American scene in the late 1940s. In those pioneer days, nobody--not the advertisers, not the ad agencies, not the TV stations--knew exactly what made for a good commercial. Indeed, the earliest beer commercials consisted of everything from live demonstrations of how to cook a Welsh rarebit using beer to the noisy rumble of a studio audience muddling through a rendition of the brewer's theme song.
With National Prohibition still fresh in memory, brewers were initially wary of peddling their beers on the air. Early critics of television saw the new medium as little more than an intrusion into peoples' living rooms, and many were concerned that beer ads might offend the viewers' sensibilities. Commercials that actually showed a person consuming beer, for example, were often deemed in bad taste. Beer ads were typically aired only in the late evenings, and Sundays were entirely off limits. Surveys were periodically conducted among viewers to determine whether any "moral backlash" might be caused by selling beer on television.
Above: Jax Beer debuted its program "Outdoors Louisiana" in 1949. Fishing, hunting and drinking beer made for good conversation.
Right: National Bohemian Beer was on the air in Baltimore by the late 1940s.
But early apprehension was soon overtaken by the realization that television offered beer makers something tremendously valuable and unique: the ability to target the beer drinker right at the barstool. The American tavern, after all, was the first home of television. In Chicago, for example, taverns accounted for half of all sales of television sets in 1947. Had any tavern keeper initially doubted the revolutionary importance of TV to his trade, he was surely converted after the 1947 World Series. Telecasts of the seven games between the Dodgers and the Yankees made for standing-room-only crowds in taverns throughout New York City.
Indeed, in the early days, as TV stations were starved for quality programs, television was necessarily dominated by sporting events. This, of course, added significantly to TV's allure among beer advertisers. The notion that "sports sells beer" is perhaps the most sacred axiom of beer marketing, just as true 50 years ago as today.
Who's On First?
Surprisingly, it was not the nation's largest beer makers who led the brewing industry's charge into television. Rather, most of TV's pioneer beer advertisers were regional brewers. In 1945, New England's Narragansett Beer sponsored the first telecasts of Boston Red Sox games, though neither the brewery nor the baseball team seemed overly confident about the then-infant medium. In fact, Sox management granted Narragansett the sponsorship rights free of charge, telling brewery officials, "We don't know what we're doing, and neither do you."
Despite that early (albeit tentative) arrangement, Modern Brewery Age magazine christened the Hyde Park brewery of St. Louis the "first brewery to sponsor a televised program anywhere." It was February 1947, and St. Louis was launching its inaugural television broadcast, consisting of a man-on-the-street interviewer talking to local residents. Hyde Park's early commercials--perhaps history's first prerecorded beer spots--featured "Albert, The Stick Man," an animated cartoon character with a knack for finding trouble. Whatever Albert's dilemma, a bottle of Hyde Park Beer always brought relief.
By the end of 1947, a handful of brewers had launched themselves onto the airwaves. Griesedieck Beer was broadcasting a sports program in St. Louis hosted by Harry Caray who, of course, went on to become the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals and, later, the Chicago Cubs. In Detroit, Goebel Beer was sponsoring telecasts of Tigers baseball games. Beer rivalries in Chicago spurred three breweries--Keeley, Peter Fox, and Canadian Ace--to jump into television. National Bohemian Beer was on the air in its home market of Baltimore. And Sunshine Beer of Reading, PA, debuted an experimental program in which no actual commercials were shown. Instead, the program's two characters--named "The Coach" and "The Young Fellow"--wove discussions of Sunshine Beer right into their dialogue.
Within just a few short years, brewers had staked their claim on the new medium, and beer marketing would never be the same. In 1951, Blatz Beer was the sole sponsor of what was perhaps television's first major "media event"--migration of the venerable Amos 'n' Andy radio program to television. Blatz officials traveled the country in an airplane with a fully equipped public relations office, stirring up excitement for the new program. Spending $250,000 just to hype the premiere episode, Blatz quickly ranked among television's top advertisers. Other brewers would soon follow.
Hitting the Spot
Of course, sponsoring the highly rated programs was key, but as viewers became more sophisticated, the commercials themselves required more polish and finesse. After all, if the ad didn't sell the product, it was useless. Several genres of TV commercial emerged: the testimonial, the mini-drama, the celebrity endorsement, the demonstration. But, the cornerstone of American TV advertising was (and largely still is) what experts call the "identifiable character"--Tony the Tiger, the Jolly Green Giant, Mr. Whipple, and countless others.
Among the earliest, and certainly one of the most successful, ID characters put to work on television for a brewery was "Mabel," a genial blond bartendress who rarely spoke, but ended virtually every commercial with a friendly wink. Beginning in 1951, and for nearly the next 20 years, Mabel and her tray of Carling Black Label Beers glided across millions of television screens in response to that familiar call, "Hey Mabel--Black Label!"
Mabel's graceful charm and captivating smile seemed to hit beer drinkers right between the eyes. One observer commented that Mabel could "compel any man to leave home--to fetch a carton of Carling's, that is." Indeed, with Mabel leading the way, the Carling Brewing Co. skyrocketed up the list of America's largest brewers, from number 28 in 1951 to number 6 in 1957.
Pot shots from rival brewers were inevitable. In a clever TV spot for Labatt's Beer, a young woman exits a tavern with a package under her arm. Wearing dark sunglasses and a scarf over her head, she scurries down the sidewalk, her face obscured by her coat collar. Much to her dismay, she is stopped by a man-on-the-street interviewer, complete with microphone and camera crew. Upon inquiry, the young woman reluctantly reveals that her package contains a six-pack of Labatt's. The interviewer then asks, "Would you tell us your name?" The woman, as if relieved that her dark secret has been uncovered, removes her sunglasses dramatically, looks directly into the camera, and says, "Why, yes. I'm Mabel."
Of course, Labatt's hadn't lured away the real Mabel--merely a close facsimile. Carling's Mabel was played by Jeanne Goodspeed, a New York actress and model. In the mid-1950s, when Goodspeed ended her career to become a mother, Carling faced a bit of a dilemma. Mabel's popularity precluded casting a new actress in her role. Instead, animated cartoon Mabels, together with clips from Goodspeed's very first Carling shooting session in 1951, were the basis of Black Label commercials for years. Finally, in 1970, a new actress was cast in the role, but only to witness the final departure of Mabel shortly afterward.
The success of Mabel notwithstanding, not all ID characters were live actors. During the 1950s and '60s, animation in TV commercials was predominant, and for good reason. Certainly, animation was far less expensive to produce than live action. But, more important, it offered maximum creative flexibility, allowing advertisers to produce dynamic, original commercials limited only by the animator's imagination.
Hamming It Up
Never were the advantages of animation better exploited than in the long-running commercials featuring the wacky-go-lucky Hamm's bear. Making his television debut in 1953, the Hamm's bear ultimately became one of history's most recognized advertising figures. In 1965, the Audit Research Bureau reported that the bear ranked first in "best liked" advertisements nationwide, an impressive achievement considering that Hamm's commercials aired in only 31 states.
At least two aspects of the Hamm's bear commercials were critical to their overwhelming success. First, each spot was, in itself, a miniature story, complete with plot, characters, conflict, and (if the bear was lucky) resolution. The spots had genuine entertainment value and elicited good viewer attention. Second, the animation and interspersed real-life shots dramatically showcased Minnesota's pristine wilderness--the crystal-clear lakes, the heavy foliage, the abundant wildlife--in order to drive home the Hamm's theme: "From the Land of Sky Blue Waters." Consumer perception that Hamm's Beer was pure, natural and refreshing was thus achieved through vivid imagery instead of trite, easily forgettable ad copy.
By 1969, the future of the Hamm's Bear was uncertain, as the brewery's advertising direction began to change. Nevertheless, over the next 20 years, the bear would be called upon periodically to replay his role as chief Hamm's Beer salesman. In 2000, St. Paul's Pioneer Press named the bear as a runner-up on its list of "150 Influential Minnesotans of the Past 150 Years."
Rivaling the Hamm's bear in terms of public recall and likeability was the animated comedy team of Bert and Harry Piel, fictitious owners of Brooklyn's Piel Bros. brewery. During the 1950s and '60s, New Yorkers fell in love with the cantankerous, loud-mouthed Bert and befuddled, soft-spoken Harry--who got their voices from the comedy team of Bob and Ray. Commercials typically depicted the brothers stumbling through some sort of promotional endeavor for Piel's Beer only to be foiled by an unexpected snafu, setting off Bert's temper and Harry's futile efforts to calm him. The pair became so popular that thousands of letters were mailed to them at the Piel's brewery, and the Bert and Harry fan club numbered over 100,000 members.
But critics pointed out that, while Bert and Harry were undeniably entertaining, they did little to support any particular image or attribute for Piel's Beer. In the end, the critics proved right. Bert and Harry went down in history as the textbook example of that all-too-common advertising dilemma: Good reception, poor response. During the initial six years that the duo hawked Piel's Beer, the brewery's sales, on average, grew less than 1 percent per year. Bert and Harry even poked fun at the problem in one of their commercials. "Some of you--and you know who you are--were laughing at our commercials and not buying our beer. The free ride is over!" yelled Bert. "We have a new theme: 'I'm laughing with Piel's in my hand.' What's fair is fair!"
The pair was finally pulled from the airwaves in 1960. But, they returned two years later when Piel's ad agency, Young and Rubicam, staged a mock election in newspapers and radio, the result of which was that New Yorkers wanted Bert and Harry to return. Fate was not much kinder to the comic brothers that time and, in 1965, they were retired yet again.
It's Miller Time
During much of the 1950s and '60s, advertising agencies that handled beer accounts were saddled with a unique dilemma. The average beer drinker (the guy who was unflatteringly dubbed "Joe Six-Pack" by beer marketers), perceived little difference between one domestic brand of beer and another. In the consumer's mind, all beer was made from essentially the same ingredients, underwent the same brewing process, came in basically the same types of packages, cost more or less the same, etc. For ad agencies and copywriters, this made for relatively few "selling points." A beer's flavor, more often than not, was the only source of distinction. Thus, flavor became the underlying theme, in one form or another, of virtually all beer commercials.
Three days in January 1971 changed all that. Beer distributors from around the country converged on Boca Raton, FL, for Miller Brewing Co.'s national sales meeting. The focal point of the gathering was Miller's launch of a nationwide advertising campaign centered on the slogan, "If you've got the time, we've got the beer." A new genre of beer commercial was about to be born.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris had just acquired full ownership of Miller Brewing during the previous year. The company had big plans for Miller, hoping to apply the same advertising strategies to the beer industry that it had used to propel Marlboro cigarettes to the top position within the tobacco industry. (The company even test-marketed "Marlboro Beer" but ultimately shelved it.)
Television, of course, would be Miller's primary means of assault. TV spots for Miller High Life bore a strikingly similar look and feel to Philip Morris' venerable Marlboro Man commercials. The new ads invariably depicted tough and rugged he-men drinking Miller Beer--not because they enjoyed its delicate balance of flavors, not because they fancied the easy-to-open bottle, but because they worked hard all day and, dammit, now it was Miller Time.
The "you earned it" theme was a complete departure from the tired old claims of two decades worth of beer commercials. Number-one-selling Budweiser jumped on the bandwagon with the tagline, "For all you do, this Bud's for you." For the first time, beer ads were not about the beer, but about the beer drinker. Joe Six-Pack ate it up, and beer advertising moved headlong into a new era.
The Lite Brigade
One other important development came from the Miller sales meeting in Boca Raton. At the time, however, few--including Miller itself--realized the ultimate significance. Brewery president William Kostecke told the crowd that, after years of producing only one brand (High Life), Miller would begin experimenting with "secondary brands." Barely three years later, Lite Beer from Miller took the industry by storm, forging an entirely new beer category.
Television was perhaps never more instrumental in the launch of a new brand of beer than it was for Lite. Introducing a low-calorie beer, after all, was no small gamble for Miller. Nay-sayers argued that men--who, naturally, comprise the bulk of the beer-consuming public--not only had no interest in counting calories but would likely regard Lite as a "sissy beer." This was the challenge faced by McCann-Erickson, Miller's ad agency. The solution: find the toughest, manliest guys out there and put them on TV touting the merits of Lite Beer from Miller. The slogan: "Everything you always wanted in a beer. And less."
The wildly successful Lite Beer from Miller campaign used football players and other "tough guys" to build a macho image for the low-calorie beer.
The first Lite commercials aired in 1973 and starred the likes of football greats Matt Snell and Ernie Stautner and mystery writer Mickey Spillane. Over the course of the next decade, the company shot more than 80 commercials, and the roster of "Lite All-Stars" boasted nearly 40 celebs and sports icons. John Madden, Billy Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Dick Butkus, Bubba Smith and Bob Uecker were just a few of the Lite regulars. Boog Powell once commented, "You make one Lite commercial, it's like then everyone forgets you played ball for 20 years."
Of course, it was Lite's never-ending debate-"Tastes Great, Less Filling"--that earned the ads their place in history. But it wasn't until 1976, three full years after Lite commercials first aired, that the gimmick had fully taken shape. Tommy Heinsohn, the notoriously combative Boston Celtics coach, and hard-nosed NBA official Mendy Rudolph squared off on the issue in a barroom scene. After Heinsohn refused to agree that Lite was, first and foremost, less filling, Rudolph threw his thumb in the air and screamed, "You're out of the bar."
"Less Filling" was McCann-Erickson's clever way of putting a macho spin on the low calorie issue. If Lite was less filling, that meant you could drink more of it. Commercials invariably showed the performers sitting in front of a table loaded with empties, though the Federal Trade Commission mandated that the actor say something like, "Oh, I'm not saying I drank all these by myself." Nevertheless, the implication was clear. And so was Lite's success. Between 1973 and 1978, Miller sales exploded from just under 7 million barrels to over 31 million barrels--the most dramatic period of expansion ever recorded by a beer maker.
TV: The Brewer's Battleground
The phenomenal growth of Miller and the other nationally shipping brewers during the 1970s came, of course, entirely at the expensive of the small, regional brewer. Any hopes of protecting one's home market from the invasion of the nationals meant doing bloody battle. Television, far more than any other medium, was the theater of engagement. The regional brewers' fight for their very survival made for some interesting beer commercials.
When the national brewers advanced on Erie, PA, the Erie Brewing Co.--makers of Koehler Beer--resorted to tongue-in-cheek threats aimed at local beer drinkers. The somewhat morbid TV spots cautioned consumers to buy only Koehler, lest they incur the wrath of long-dead brewery founder Jackson Koehler. The series of commercials showed a ghostly "Uncle Jackson" sabotaging golf games, ruining backyard barbecues, and generally wreaking havoc in the lives of beer drinkers until they vowed allegiance to Koehler Beer. Each commercial ended with the menacing tagline, "Uncle Jackson's Watching," followed by a crash of thunder.
Commercials for Burger Beer of Cincinnati took the national brewers head on, knocking their slogans and million-dollar ad campaigns. The tagline was, "Don't be bamboozled by out-of-town beers." Commercials included a jingle with lyrics, "Some beers come from Milwaukee; Some come from over the sea; But I'm not bamboozled, cuz my beer is Burger; My beer's from the same place as me."
Ortlieb's Beer of Philadelphia hoped to counter the mega-breweries by putting a neighborly face on their beer. Commercials featured amiable real-life brew master Joe Ortlieb addressing consumers directly, capped with the friendly slogan, "Try Joe's Beer." In one spot, Joe tells customers, "In the beer business, when you bump another brand out of a bar, it's called 'knocking off a spigot.' Those big guys can knock off my spigots, but they can't knock off my taste."
In the end, Koehler, Burger, Ortlieb's and countless others did not win their struggle. The typical small brewer simply could not match the large advertising budgets of his national rivals. Even today, virtually every televised sporting event is dotted with beer commercials, proving that television remains a key weapon in the big brewers' arsenal.
I will state this post again for those less than qualified to comprehend. Perhaps with a day's study, it will make some sense. Most everybody else gets it.
Now...here is the post I put up initially....notice the bolding of the words for ease of comprehension.
Posting 1:
Golf Channel's Golf Central talking on John Daly's return to the tour, his dramatic weight loss, and cleaning up his act.
He went into his good friend Kid Rock's studio this week as Kid allowed him to use his producer and studio for an album release Daly's doing. Daly also has another reality show coming in 2010 on Golf Channel.
(This is completely on topic as it concerns a great friendship and relationship that exists between one of OUR icons and John Daly).
Is there something here to the connection? (This is where I ask to stimulate possibilities). We know Daly lost all his sponsors after the Hooters thing. Strange that his biggest sponsor now is "Blue Collar Golf"..the same name of the other beer for Kid. He is also wearing Made In Detroit clothes and the same in a cap when he is golfing....Kid Rock's label.
Perhaps it is just Kid helping out his good friend.
(This is where I quantify my posting as perhaps mere coincidence but still to keep a watchful eye to see if things develop)
John Daly being filmed in Grand Blanc, at Kid Rock's studio for reality show
By LARRY LAGE • AP Sports Writer • July 29, 2009
GRAND BLANC — Really, John Daly insists he’s not a beer-swilling, trouble-making guy anymore.
Daly said today an upcoming reality show on the Golf Channel, featuring him, will provide a glimpse of his new-and-improved boring life.
“I’m more laid-back,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press between puffs of a cigarette in the parking lot of Warwick Hills, the site of this week’s Buick Open. “It won’t have the hustle and bustle as the last show.”
The Golf Channel had a 13-part series, “The Daly Planet,” in 2006, showcasing his wild life.
The first of at least eight episodes of the yet-to-be-named reality show will air in early 2010.
“I think ’Out of the Rough’ is the perfect title,” Daly said.
The popular player said he’s focusing on his golf career, which has been marked by the highs of winning the British Open and PGA Championship and lows created by problems outside the ropes.
Daly returned to the PGA Tour earlier this year after a six-month suspension, the second time the tour has suspended him for unbecoming conduct. Two other times, he agreed to sit out to get his life in order.
He has been to alcohol rehab twice, has been married three times and wrote an autobiography that was as much about drinking, sex and gambling as it was about his golf.
“I haven’t had a drink in awhile,” Daly said.
Golf Channel senior producer Al Pollock, who has known Daly since 1994 and has been with him during filming of the upcoming show, said he hasn’t seen Daly have a sip of alcohol in a long time.
“He’s a different person,” Pollock said. “This show will not be as crazy as the last show. But it’s going to show a different side — the real side — of John Daly. He’s lived through a lot of peaks and valleys. Now he’s got his stuff together.
“He’s more serious, especially about golf. He’s lost a lot of weight.”
Daly said he has lost 81 pounds since February, when he ballooned to 286 pounds.
His next goal is to shave strokes off his game so that he can add to his total of five PGA Tour victories.
“I’m practicing a lot and I’m working hard, but it’s not paying off yet,” he said. “I’m real frustrated with my putting.”
The day before competing in the first round of the Buick Open, a crew planned to follow him as he recorded a song he wrote at Kid Rock’s studio and performed mundane tasks such as ironing the colorful pants he would sport at Warwick Hills.
“I’m still having fun, but I’m more serious,” Daly said. “I’m finally the guy so many people have wanted me to be for so many years.”
Posting 2:
For those who want to jump up and scream, "We don't need another non drinking icon!"...I've got news for you.
Daly is as blue collar as they come and a lesson in the bi-polar significance of life.(Noting bi polar tendencies)
Sex, gambling, and drinking....the PGA Tour(a bipolar Daly at work)
His old sponsors? Both on his shirts at the same time.
Left sleeve?..."Dunkin Donuts"
Right sleeve?...TrimSpa(Again bipolar but more hipocrasy)
286 lbs down to 205 in 5 months(Dramatic and excessive as with the others. Yes a stomach staple but whatever)
The Tour is creme de la creme...Daly is Blue Collar(More bi polar and opposite 180's)
Kid is Blue Collar.(Noting their similarities)
Daly may never drink a drop of Badass but his fan base will never leave him.(Reality and no hype)
He will wear the American Badass cap and carry the American Badass Beer Golf Bag...(If a deal is struck this is what you can expect)
And it will be good for another 5 million cases a year.(This is what these kinds of deals produce from years in the business)
This was immediately followed by the proper articles citing why the hipocratic nature of Dunkin Donuts/Trimspa. And then followed by the dollars that are paid for such advertising mediums.
So, it seems once again the blatant attacks are at the hands of offering opinions. Far be it from me to ever be the one to enforce anyone's opinion on anyone as fact. That's a problem left for doctors to resolve.
And if anybody wants to argue that Beer and Liquor companies are prohibited on the PGA Tour, then go right ahead.
It is happening as we speak...
http://www.sportingnews.com/golf/article/2009-04-27/pga-considers-expanding-spirits-sponsorships
"Kid Rock's BadAss Beer Private Stash"
WTF are you talking about?
How is JD wearing shirts with sponsor logos from 2002-2006 that say Dunkin Donuts and Trim Spa distorting the facts?
I can only laugh at the comedy of it all.
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1113675/index.htm
http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/sports/2007/08/13/Pricing-Golfers-Wares
For those who want to jump up and scream, "We don't need another non drinking icon!"...I've got news for you.
Daly is as blue collar as they come and a lesson in the bi-polar significance of life.
Sex, gambling, and drinking....the PGA Tour
His old sponsors? Both on his shirts at the same time.
Left sleeve?..."Dunkin Donuts"
Right sleeve?...TrimSpa
286 lbs down to 205 in 5 months
The Tour is creme de la creme...Daly is Blue Collar
Kid is Blue Collar.
Daly may never drink a drop of Badass but his fan base will never leave him.
He will wear the American Badass cap and carry the American Badass Beer Golf Bag...
And it will be good for another 5 million cases a year.
Golf Channel's Golf Central talking on John Daly's return to the tour, his dramatic weight loss. and cleaning up his act.
He went into his good friend Kid Rock's studio this week as Kid allowed him to use his producer and studio for an album release Daly's doing. Daly also has another reality show coming in 2010 on Golf Channel.
Is there something here to the connection? We know Daly lost all his sponsors after the Hooters thing. Strange that his biggest sponsor now is "Blue Collar Golf"..the same name of the other beer for Kid. He is also wearing Made In Detroit clothes and the same in a cap when he is golfing....Kid Rock's label.
Perhaps it is just Kid helping out his good friend.
John Daly being filmed in Grand Blanc, at Kid Rock's studio for reality show
By LARRY LAGE • AP Sports Writer • July 29, 2009
GRAND BLANC — Really, John Daly insists he’s not a beer-swilling, trouble-making guy anymore.
Daly said today an upcoming reality show on the Golf Channel, featuring him, will provide a glimpse of his new-and-improved boring life.
“I’m more laid-back,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press between puffs of a cigarette in the parking lot of Warwick Hills, the site of this week’s Buick Open. “It won’t have the hustle and bustle as the last show.”
The Golf Channel had a 13-part series, “The Daly Planet,” in 2006, showcasing his wild life.
The first of at least eight episodes of the yet-to-be-named reality show will air in early 2010.
“I think ’Out of the Rough’ is the perfect title,” Daly said.
The popular player said he’s focusing on his golf career, which has been marked by the highs of winning the British Open and PGA Championship and lows created by problems outside the ropes.
Daly returned to the PGA Tour earlier this year after a six-month suspension, the second time the tour has suspended him for unbecoming conduct. Two other times, he agreed to sit out to get his life in order.
He has been to alcohol rehab twice, has been married three times and wrote an autobiography that was as much about drinking, sex and gambling as it was about his golf.
“I haven’t had a drink in awhile,” Daly said.
Golf Channel senior producer Al Pollock, who has known Daly since 1994 and has been with him during filming of the upcoming show, said he hasn’t seen Daly have a sip of alcohol in a long time.
“He’s a different person,” Pollock said. “This show will not be as crazy as the last show. But it’s going to show a different side — the real side — of John Daly. He’s lived through a lot of peaks and valleys. Now he’s got his stuff together.
“He’s more serious, especially about golf. He’s lost a lot of weight.”
Daly said he has lost 81 pounds since February, when he ballooned to 286 pounds.
His next goal is to shave strokes off his game so that he can add to his total of five PGA Tour victories.
“I’m practicing a lot and I’m working hard, but it’s not paying off yet,” he said. “I’m real frustrated with my putting.”
The day before competing in the first round of the Buick Open, a crew planned to follow him as he recorded a song he wrote at Kid Rock’s studio and performed mundane tasks such as ironing the colorful pants he would sport at Warwick Hills.
“I’m still having fun, but I’m more serious,” Daly said. “I’m finally the guy so many people have wanted me to be for so many years.”
I would assume you are referring to yourself in that statement. Otherwise it is a blatant personal attack.
The beautiful thing is the guys behind the past two years are about to be sucked into the abyss of hell and they will lose everything.
No, they won't Boston. As I said before and will say again. The stock will open up exponentially higher overnight and they will be staring.
Oh, I am right. Most definitely. The one thing everyone is missing is the beer is not PK's deal to make happen. He already did his part. The distributors are lining up to buy it and resell it.
You cannot underperform on that issue since it's the first domestic product we've had under our belts of this magnitude. And the good thing? The quieter the better as far as I'm concerned. That will give him enough time to set up the voices to tell the story and drown everybody else out with an opinion to the contrary.
And MBC cannot go fast enough. MBC sells beer. That's all they do.
All PK has to do now is set up the outsourcing.
Oops! That's already done.
OK, so let the games begin!
P.S. The stock is trading on $2 million in beer guidance from last October and as some would have you believe, the underperformance of that number.
Ooops!!!! Major crow eating time.
Yummy!
Well, I for one take delight in an alias posting for less than a week that is doing some major accumulating.
That is a far better world in which we live than to have to wade through the lack of due diligence from those who own no shares whatsoever and yet claim to be the authority on whose opinion should be valued higher than others on DKAM.
I have a box of checks in my desk drawer with 1000 checks in it.
I fail to see your point about 500 mil shares being "out there."
It's the IDENTICAL same thing.