BEFORE YOU GO
RETAIL RANDOMS
Two out of eight ain’t bad They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity but surely the head honchos at Welsh brewery Tiny Rebel are wincing after drinks industry watchdog the Portman Group received complaints about a whopping eight of its various beers. The Portman Group said there had been “an unmatched number of complainants for products considered from one company”. There are no prizes for guessing that all eight products attracted complaints under the Group’s rule 3.2(h): a drink, its packaging or promotion should not have a particular appeal to under-18s. To spell it out further, the Group was especially concerned by designs that featured cartoon characters, made prominent use of Tiny Rebel’s bear logo or were themed around products popular with children such as sweets and 99 ice creams.
Amazingly, complaints against two products, Cali Pale and Clwb Tropica’s 330ml can, were not upheld. This prompted the following response from Tiny Rebel: “We’re delighted that [the Portman Group] have confirmed that our Clwb Tropica IPA and Cali Pale Ale
products are both fully compliant.” One has to admire Tiny Rebel’s ability to accentuate the positive. When given lemons, make lemonade, as the saying goes. Just don’t make it alcoholic. And don’t make it look like a Rubik’s Cube.
TAAT’s what I’m talking about! If you’re heading over to Chicago next week for the NACS trade show, be sure to visit booth 1659 to discover what “freedom tastes like”. It turns out freedom actually tastes like fags, according to tobacco alternatives brand TAAT, whose Beyond Nicotine cigarettes “give smokers the sensory and smoking experience they prefer with their smoking ritual without the burden of tobacco or nicotine”. So that’ll be drawing a host of unwelcome chemicals into your lungs, stinking like an ashtray and standing outside the pub in the rain with the other pariahs. Oh, and copping an eyeful of a
woman’s cleavage under the guise of getting a light, if the sexist marketing
material is anything to go by. As TAAT’s strapline says: “Cigarette evolution is finally here!”
WEDNESDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER 2021 / ISSUE 75 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 45
