Colorado brewer avoiding local spring water

Colorado ad agency Cultivator Advertising & Design makes fun of Pete Coors in this new spot for craft brewer Breckenridge. In the commercial, Breckenridge head brewer Bob Harrington stands beside a steam in his flannel shirt and says his Lucky U IPA is brewed with real Colorado water. "Well, not this water," he clarifies. "Do you know what bears do in there?" I was hoping he'd tell us, but no such luck. And I wish there'd been a guy in a bear suit standing by the stream, waving a paw. Maybe that Boston Bruins bear could put in a cameo next time. The Coors parody feels a bit dated, as old Petey hasn't appeared in a commercial in quite some time. But what can you expect from an agency that just sent out a holiday greeting with its staff decked out like the cast of Mad Men? That is so 2008!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on December 14, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Alcohol, Breckenridge Brewery, Cultivator, Gianatasio, Parody

Brewer wisely promotes biking over driving

Cultivator Advertising & Design crafted the pro-biking message above on behalf of New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Colo. The headline, "Work to bike more," sounds like the work of a tipsy copywriter, so it's probably good that he or she doesn't drive a car. (We're told the billboard's placement over PT Motors' "Cash for cars" sign was "fortuitous.") The New Belgium video below shows the tangible benefits of cycling to work: It's often quicker than driving, so you can get to work earlier and enjoy more weird ball-bouncing activities with your hippie co-workers. Employee-owned New Belgium is one of your more eco-friendly brewers across the board. It's wind powered, and it "recycles, reuses or composts 73 percent of its waste stream." All of which sounds vaguely unsanitary, but at least they don't have a giant tub of recycling worker worms out back. My latest AdFreak evaluation said I should "Work to write more," but I'm also into conservation, and couldn't possibly increase my output.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Biking, Cultivator, Gianatasio, New Belgium Brewing

Denver mall sells whatever it can this year

Who says the holidays are overcommercialized? Cultivator Advertising & Design's "Yuletide Project" for Cherry Creek North, a shopping district in Denver, goes against the grain with banners, buttons, postcards and signs espousing low-cost gift ideas such as: "Write a holiday greeting on a snow-covered car window," "Stick a holiday bow on someone's back" and "Carol with a stranger." Apparently, Cherry Creek North is giving up on profits entirely this year. And by the way: Whoever's been leaving "messages" on my Accord in the AdFreak parking lot had better cut it out. Hey! How'd this bow get taped to my backside? I bet it's that snippy Carol from accounting. If I draw her name in the office Secret Santa, she is so getting that '80s hair-band mix CD I've been dying to unload.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on December 9, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Cultivator, Gianatasio, Holidays

Recycle your beer cans, and your beer ads

Who says brewers always use babes and beaches to sell their beer? Cultivator Advertising & Design in Denver plays up the greener tendencies of New Belgium Brewing in its latest “Follow your folly” campaign. The ads celebrate recycling via layered art-box photo collages (some two feet tall and nine inches deep) constructed of and filled with recycled objects (then photographed to become printed pages). One ad called “Beaver” shows eco-activist skinny-dippers, but it’s a lot tamer than it sounds. Another features a “trashy” take on Magritte, but only because it’s actually composed of discarded objects. All this has very little to do with beer. It’s artsy but, might I add, also kind of dull. Roll in the kegs, and cue the bikini team! Sorry, I guess I’m a sucker for the classics.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on June 9, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Cultivator, Gianatasio

Living off the land ... in the lap of luxury

This campaign from Cultivator Advertising & Design touts Red Ledges, a luxury real estate community in Heber City, Utah. The ads (see the full version of this one here) target well-to-do types who might be in the market for second homes—complete with golf courses, tennis facilities, horseplay (of the equestrian type) and other amenities most of us can’t afford. The dwellings aren’t actually built yet, so the ads use scenic photography to show prospective buyers the vistas that will be spoiled when they are. In light of the current real-estate crisis, an even more disturbing image springs to mind: the newly homeless camped beneath the sky, meadow grass for pillows and quilts of leaves for warmth. Of course, I’m being silly—that’ll never happen. Right? The rich are easy targets. I apologize and wish Red Ledges all the best. Tennis anyone?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on May 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Cultivator, Gianatasio

Roll in your own grave with Agave Wheat

Cultivator in Denver is proud of its latest label design for Breckenridge Brewery’s Agave Wheat ale. (See the full label here.) According to the release, the design concept is based on Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos, with a wheat stalk used in place of the traditional rose. Skulls don’t get much play in advertising, outside of packaging for rat poison and such, and its use here seems subversive and refreshingly on point. The skull looks pretty happy, too, with his wide smile and wild eyes. Party on, my departed friend! The Day of the Dead is in November, but the brewer probably won’t mind if you pick up a sixer tonight for Cinco de Mayo.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on May 5, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Cultivator, Gianatasio

Denver ads offer a portrait of homelessness

Cultivator's billboards for the Denver Rescue Mission perform a difficult feat. Without resorting to crass sentimentality, they put a face (143 faces, actually) on homelessness, and cleverly illustrate that the problem won’t go away until these people have places to live. The faces of actual Denver-area homeless people initially form the word “Homeless” on the billboards. As weeks go by, the portraits will be removed, and the word “Home” will appear. It’s part of the mission’s $12.5 million capital drive. Are you reaching for your checkbook? What do they have to do, spell it out for you?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 20, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Cultivator, Gianatasio