| Call us old-fashioned, but we remember when the alcohol industry policed itself to keep unsavory marketing from ever seeing the light of day. And in those few instances where an alcohol marketer stepped over the line, the federal government was an intimidating presence. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) was the watchdog agency, and the dog had teeth. This little red ball proves those days are long gone. |  If the promise of "buzz" wasn't enough, reponsibility-averse flavor descriptors like "Rum Job" made "BuzzBallz" a shoe-in for our M.A.I.M. Award (Marketing Alcohol Irresponsibly to Millions) |
It's important to note that BuzzBallz, our M.A.I.M. award-winner (Marketing Alcohol Irresponsibly to Millions), is not a beer. It's a very-high-alcohol blend of liquor, fruit juice, and flavorings. One serving delivers nearly triple the alcohol in 12 ounces of light
1.35 oz. of pure alcohol in every 6.75-ounce package
beer. That's probably why everyone in the official BuzzBallz YouTube video is either slurring their words, delivering lewd double-entendres, talking "gangsta," or otherwise appearing to have been over-served. Over-served, as in "I'm on my second one." Take a look...
Lest anyone shopping for alcohol--or if you're among the underage group looking for a pocket-sized pop, shoplifting alcohol--miss the "get hammered" BuzzBallz message, the brand's flavor descriptions avoid nuance entirely. Missing only an outright "Get Debbie Drunk and Nail Her" flavor, they employ clever language like Sinnerz, Blitz, Pie Eaterz, Blaster, Forbidden, Passion, Tease, and Smash. Subtle, huh?
This deaf ear to responsible labeling combined with the "Buzz" brand name will make it difficult for another marketer to unseat BuzzBallz from the irresponsible-marketing #1 spot. The shopliftable sizing, pop-top packaging, and of course, the high alcohol level vault this brand into irresponsible-legend territory.
The good citizens who conceived and market BuzzBallz have yet to create a television commercial, preferring to concentrate on alternative and social media. Maybe they'll add a low-media-budget bumper sticker with a simple statement of exactly what their product's all about:
This deaf ear to responsible labeling combined with the "Buzz" brand name will make it difficult for another marketer to unseat BuzzBallz from the irresponsible-marketing #1 spot. The shopliftable sizing, pop-top packaging, and of course, the high alcohol level vault this brand into irresponsible-legend territory.
The good citizens who conceived and market BuzzBallz have yet to create a television commercial, preferring to concentrate on alternative and social media. Maybe they'll add a low-media-budget bumper sticker with a simple statement of exactly what their product's all about:
Ever-alert federal regulators at TTB would almost certainly approve.
Why bother even mentioning this relatively small brand?
With the growth of their beer brands sluggish at best, BigBeer's search for new volume has already gone from fruit-flavored malt beverages like hard lemonade to Bud Light Lime-a-Ritas and Mixxtails. And with alcoholic root beer and other soda-pop flavors reportedly now being formulated by MillerCoors and others, BuzzBallz will be closely watched. Its unvarnished appeal to the youngest alcohol consumers could prove as irresistible to BigBeer as it is to a 17 year-old.
With the watchdog federal regulators soundly asleep, BigBeer could be tempted to move closer to the irresponsibility line.
We can only hope they have the balls to resist that temptation.
With the growth of their beer brands sluggish at best, BigBeer's search for new volume has already gone from fruit-flavored malt beverages like hard lemonade to Bud Light Lime-a-Ritas and Mixxtails. And with alcoholic root beer and other soda-pop flavors reportedly now being formulated by MillerCoors and others, BuzzBallz will be closely watched. Its unvarnished appeal to the youngest alcohol consumers could prove as irresistible to BigBeer as it is to a 17 year-old.
With the watchdog federal regulators soundly asleep, BigBeer could be tempted to move closer to the irresponsibility line.
We can only hope they have the balls to resist that temptation.
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