Monday, July 03, 2006

Essay 773


Here are more comments posted on AdAge.com in response to the Jay-Z vs. Cristal article featured in Essay 747…

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>If Jay-Z chooses to boycott Cristal, more power to him! Jay-Z is not concerned with the history of Cristal, he is concerned with his investment and support he made to Cristal and the company’s standards. If I feel a certain company that I have supported and invested in for years has made a racist comment, I would no longer support the company no matter the history. It boils down to ethics and support. I must say, if companies don’t adjust to the shift in the power of the ethnic buyer, they will sink, slowly but surely. — New York, NY

>I wonder if the writer of the original story — as well as the writer of the subsequent comment (Sydney below) — mistakes hurting the brand for hurting the sales. Consider Jay-Z’s global following, and his ability to create demand for say, a type of sneakers, by simply wearing a pair onstage. Then double that ability by factoring in girlfriend Beyoncé. That’s more "influencer" firepower than most advertisers can muster with full-blown ad campaigns. A limited product like Cristal may not suffer damage to sales. But one can only imagine the short- and long-term collateral damage inflicted upon the brand. — Anytown, NY

>Although some may disagree with much of hip-hop music and its content, one cannot deny its influence on popular culture over the last 20 years. Whether it was Run DMC mentioning Adidas in their songs in the 80s or Jay-Z talking about Cristal recently, certain people listen to those statements and buy according to the popular culture brands. Celebrity sells and Jay-Z is arguably one of the greatest lyrical geniuses to ever rap and an influencer among youth and other celebrities alike. Cristal did not just offend Jay-Z by those comments but every person who listens to hip-hop, especially African-Americans. — Chicago — Cincinnati, OH

>After living in France and visiting fine champagne houses, you soon realise they are not interested in Jay-Z and how or what champagne he guzzles with no regard for the quality and principles in place for the production of fine champagne. He is not a good figurehead for the brand and getting pissy-pissy is not what Cristal is created for. — Sydney

1 comment:

on a lark said...

does syndney personally know jay-z or is she making her comments on his wine-tasting abilities based on the color of his skin? maybe, just maybe, because he can afford it on a regular basis, he does have regard 'for the quality and principles in place for the production of fine champagne'.