August 17, 2010

Old Hickory, Part 1, Solid Citizen

Okay, this is the first of a three-part series of Old Hickory ads, charting the brand’s movement from somewhat reserved and reticent tipple probably most utilized by small town citizens who like to spend time on the front porch in a rocking chair talking about the goodness in populations under 1500, from that to a wilder and crazier far out swiller most consumed by brightly-colored college denizens out for a night of mind-bending free spirited alcohol and drug use, from that to a pretty twisted gulper utilized by boozed-up party boys on the make to entice those young ladies who don’t know any better to do things they shouldn’t probably do, with a smile. So, basically, charting the exact same trajectory as most men I knew growing up as they moved from seniors in high school to seniors in college. The strange thing, though, is that Old Hickory ran these ads in three consecutive months in a particular magazine. That’s re-branding at light speed people.

 

Nicole said:

Old Hickory bourbon?! As in, “Old Hickory said we could take ’em by surprise if we didn’t fire muskets ’til we looked ’em in the eye”? I was just singing that song this morning, and whenever I’m at work I daydream about bourbon…

admin said:

Wow that sounds like an amazing coincidence–I think you should have a drink and ponder it. And sing that song even more (I wanna hear it all the way over here).

Nicole said:

It may not be such an amazing coincidence. I’ve been listening to a lot of Damien Dempsey lately. He’s big on singsongs. So I walk around now thinking I might be pulled into a singsong at any moment, and I feel I must have a battle song at the ready. It’s not much of a battle song (so poppy, eh), but I can’t remember the words to “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero.”

We were in Lexington, KY with the Shollys last weekend. Rode a horse. Drank some bourbon. It was a good weekend.

admin said:

You must have a battle song at the ready–who know what might happen? I have been singing (or humming) the theme to American Bandstand today myself, and it’s sort of a battle song. But calling you to a dance off instead of another kind of battle.

Lexington, Shollys, horses, bourbon? That’s a dream land.

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