Drink Milk…To The Extreme!!!
T.J. Hamilton grips the bars of his BMX, trying to control the bike on his descent down the mountainside. The landscape whips by at a fever pitch as he continues to pick up speed en route down the rigorous terrain. Sweat pours down his clenched face and gasps for breath are his only soundtrack. The bike nearly buckles as he quickly approaches the oncoming cliff. Turning is not an option. He pedals faster and launches himself off the cliff ledge. As the bike falls below, he gracefully extends his arms as if reaching like an angel for heaven. The air rushes against his body as he plummets towards the water below. He conveniently lands in an awaiting kayak. No rest is granted, as he immediately must paddle against the raging waters. The water crashes against the side of his boat as he is tossed and turned. Each wave nearly knocking him asunder. He fights on as the sound of the forthcoming waterfall grows. He digs his oar into the depths of the water, instantly turning the kayak sideways. Using his mighty leg muscles he propels himself out of his tiny vessel and flips himself onto the near by shore. Upon landing, he quickly breaks into a sprint. He races forward, climbing the hillside. A burning shed blocks his path, but rather then avoid it, he penetrates the flame licked quarters. Once liberated from the inferno, his running burst continues. The flames now burning his body, does not slow his pace. As he reaches the top of the hill with great speed and dexterity, he triple moonsaults off the peak. His burning body freefalls for moments until with just a pull of a cord, his parachute opens.

Does this make you want to drink orange juice? Because someone seems to think so…

What is it with some advertisers that they feel everything nowadays has to be extreme? Did I miss something? Do people live like this? Who can relate to this sort of behaviour? I am guessing a very, very small percentage of the population. Mountain Dew, Sobes, Gatorade, and countless other companies continue to deliver their messages in the context of "attitude" or this "extreme lifestyle". Do they realize that they are only speaking to a teeny weeny slice of the pie? This can't possibly be the way they think we live our lives? In all my years and in all my various social circles, I have never come across a single person that could relate to or have any interest in these depictions of racing shopping carts down streets or freestyle moto crossing. I can't believe this is a very accurate snapshot of the younger generation (who I assume they are trying to target). And do they think this is what we want to aspire to? Is this what Mountain Dew thinks we want to be doing in a perfect world sense? I think I can say with great certainty that I don't strive towards jumping out of a plane with a pair of skis on!

Who told big business that everyone in the world now wants to live life on the edge? I don't remember casting my vote on that one. Because it seems like the only way the majority of advertisers know how to speak to us is in this attitude soaked voice. "Stretch your tongue!" "Get Bent" "Suck the marrow out of life!" Whoa, whoa…settle down there sparky! Can I just have a cup of juice? Whatever happened to Coke is it? Or drink Pepsi? Does everything have to be "in yo face"? I don't mind walking that thin line and occasionally crossing it at times, but do we have to constantly be balancing on the edge? And what happens when we get there…as in the edge…then what? Where do you go pass that? "Cut your head off! And drink Barks Root Beer!"

I can honestly say that this new form of extreme lifestyle messaging that predominantly beverage companies are employing is one of the first times that advertising supposed to be targeted to me is incredibly not relevant. Live life to the extreme? How about connecting your brand with something we can relate to…like just plain old life? Maybe that is why I drink beer? I feel a connection with the advertising.

1. Standard Beer Advertising: You and a few buddies relaxing and hanging out with groups of ravishingly beautiful women at pool parties, barbeques, bars, or private locales.

2. Standard Non-Alcoholic Beverage Advertising: You and two other (male) buddies are in complete isolation in the middle of nowhere defying death while mountain climbing, out running an avalanche or skateboarding down the side of an iceberg.

Yup, beer it is!

…but that's just my opinion

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