Shame on You!!!!!

It is almost too early in the year to say this but I think I have found the winner of the year's "Most Offensive Advertisement" and I didn't have to even wander out of my own community.  

While walking between stores at a shopping plaza, I was stopped, dead in my tracks, by not one, but three huge, slick, photographs, each depicting a version of what might be considered "stressors". Familiar scenes, intended to draw attention. Each scene bore the same message.

"LIFE IS STRESSFUL. FIND YOUR SERENITY ONE SIP AT A TIME" was the message to the reader. Loud and clear. Tansliteration at its finest.  If the picture didn't gather you in, the wording reinforced the idea that life is stressful and alcohol is the key to stress reduction and the means to the end...."serenity", one sip at a time.

In 1935, a brave man named Bill W. started Alcoholics Anonymous. Today, millions of people, world-wide struggle minute by minute, hour by hour, to achieve and hold on to the precious and hard-won gift of serenity. The simple Serenity Prayer, asking a Higher Power to grant acceptance, courage and wisdom, becomes their touchstone.  Stress, they pray, will be met with this courage and wisdom, not with a drink in hand. The prayer expresses so perfectly the core of their addiction and prescribes the timeless solution. For many, the solution comes years down a very long road.

Am I alone in my contempt?  I bet not.  Shame on the business owners for implying or promising the benefit of sipping alcohol as an escape from stress, a quick route to serenity. Were it that easy.....

In this, the brave new world of 2020, when every word we say is scrutinized to be "politically correct" and everywhere we turn we are reminded of our duty to be sensitive and inclusive, how can this huge ad campaign be anything but wrong?

Sure, if you own a business, you need to advertise.  Bring your product to the market place. Let the public know what you're selling. I used to work for two of the world's largest consumer goods companies.  I totally get it.  But, my companies had attorneys who provided scrutiny.  Every single word that potentially would be used in promoting the products, was carefully scrubbed and sanitized.  No cheap shots allowed in the market place.  Big business recognizes responsibility and advertising, at its finest, not only promotes products but also educates people of all ages, with respect and thoughtfulness.  Sensitivity is key to consumer loyalty and consumers who are happy contribute to the longevity of the company.  It's that simple. You want to make a lot of money and work long hours, become a corporate attorney.  You want to know real stress, get in a room together with a marketing executive and a corporate attorney.  But, in the end, all of it will not be in vain.

It appears that our local wine shop did not engage the services of a legal person.  Maybe they even skipped the expense of a bonafide marketing specialist, an "Ad Man" (pardon me). Perhaps they, the couple who own not only this store location but a string of others here on what I guess they assume is "provincial" Cape Cod, thought they would be terribly clever and rip off the words used by A.A. in one horribly cheap shot.  But it's not funny in any way and I contacted the owners.  Needless to say, I am eager to get a response.  If nothing else, the owners are guilty of false advertising.