More natural cork foolishness

The natural cork business has spent the past year spending millions of dollars to convince consumers that cork is not only the perfect closure for wine, but will save the environment. This campaign is strikingly odd, and not just because it glosses over cork's efficacy as a closure. Which, as noted, isn't good.

As Decanter's Adam Lechmere wrote: "The statement's sentiments are as suspect as its syntax. It demonstrates once again that the cork industry's grasp on the realities of public relations is as shaky as ever."

A friend of mine, who does cork marketing, said that the biggest problem with the cork campaign is not just that it's an unusual approach. The problem is that even if it wasn't unusual, it would still be difficult to accomplish successfully. The cork industry is asking consumers to buy wine based on the closure, and not what's in the bottle. How impractical is that? More, and an amazingly dumb video, after the jump:

Another mark of the cork industry's desperation? This video, which tells the tale of an office worker whose career is ruined because she doesn't buy wine with a natural cork. It's supposed to be funny and is actually quite insulting. I don't think I'm "a corporate lackey for the big oil companies" because I prefer screwcaps. I think regular visitors here know that the Wine Curmudgeon may be many things, but corporate lackey is not one of them.

 

Comments

[Gene]

Never had a problem with a real cork. I always thought it's an excuse for poor wine making. Will say though after bottling 1000's of bottles with real corks, screw tops would be less hassle. We did use composite corks which work better than 100% natural cork.