Post-Wall Street meltdown, it’s no surprise that bankers have lost people’s trust and respect, a fact U.K. brewer Scottish & Newcastle leverages in a spot for Strongbow Cider. Hardened-looking workers standing on a hillside rally around a leader who praises the accomplishments of roofers, gas-fitters, etc. Then he gets to a group of buttoned-up bankers, who are told to “sod off” by men in the group as well as the leader.
This bit of class warfare is intended to help drinkers who are more likely to identify with the blue-collar workers bond with Strongbow. Whether the YouTube-based campaign can accomplish that depends on whether viewers believe the spot is authentic or feel it exploits current events. Consider one viewer’s reaction to the ad:
“Hahahaha, right? Sod off, bankers! Yeah! Let’s buy some cider, because clearly this is a company that understands the working class. Oh, except: Scottish and Newcastle, brewers of Strongbow, was just recently purchased by Heineken, a public company, in a transaction supported by Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Fortis, HSBC, ING, and JPMorgan Chase. So actually, the joke’s on the working class after all.”
“There may be a limit to how incensed a large corporation can get in an ad,” noted Stuart Elliott in a May New York Times piece headlined “Angry Ads Seek to Channel Consumer Outrage.” As ad man Marc Brownstein told Elliott: “You can’t anger people into buying your brand.”
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