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A great advertising/design article by Quaffable Design (who make us look bad by doing the words properly) about one of our favourite wines, which looks even better now the label design has been cleaned up and simplified.
Jaboulet, Parallele 45 2009 Côtes du Rhône
How do you make a commodity item stand out from the crowd?
Wait, I hear you exclaim, wine is not a commodity! Well maybe not to you, but to a great many wine buyers perusing the shelves of their local supermarket it is. Put a glass of Merlot and Shiraz under their nose and they wouldn’t be able to distinguish the two.
Wine is wine - end of.
All of which brings me to the American TV Drama, Mad Men. In one of the early episodes entitled, “Smoke get’s in your eyes”, Don Draper, the creative director for the Sterling Cooper advertising agency, has to dream up a new campaign for Lucky Strike cigarettes. After struggling with creative block and the fear that he is going to lose this prestigious account, Don has his ‘ah-ha’ moment (and not in an Alan Partridge way I should add). He pitches the idea that Lucky Strike is different from all the other indistinguishable brands because “it’s toasted!” The fact that all cigarettes are toasted is irrelevant, Lucky Strike is the first to make “toasted” an explicit benefit and in the minds of the consumer, whoever is first wins.
It’s a stroke of genius and it’s one of the reasons why Mad Men is essential viewing in my industry.
Now I want to be unequivocal here, I’m not drawing any parallels here between cigarettes, this wine or the health considerations of drinking – so call off the lawyers. Where I do see a parallel however is in the chosen name for this wine - Parallelle 45.
This Côtes du Rhône takes its name from the 45th North parallel which runs two kilometres from the cellars of Maison Paul Jaboulet. I have absolutely no idea if this halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole means this location leads to the creation of a superior wine but hey, they made an issue out of it in large 150pt type so I’m inclined to think it must mean something special.
Therein lies the marketing genius.
Even though I know this is probably just marketing, I still had to pop this wine in my basket. Proof, if ever you need it, that to differentiate and sell wine in a crowded market it requires more than just great product. You need a story. It also helps to have a beautiful label and a product that’s at least better tasting than the usual supermarket plonk.
This wine certainly doesn’t disappoint. Whilst not the most complex wine I’ve tasted, it is a wonderful combination of red fruits, liquorice, cloves and a touch of chocolate. I drank this one along with a very agreeable Beef Wellington and watched my box set of Mad Men.
If we toasted anything that evening it was to great advertising and great wine!
Enjoy with confidence.
The previous label design, below.
