Smirnoff, the best-selling vodka in America, is mocking its faster growing small-batch vodka competition. Time reports on the brand’s “cut the red velvet” campaign, which attempts to, “win over the pretentious trendy cocktail market one moment, and mock the trend the next.” Like huge beer companies threatened by the craft beer scene, Smirnoff is positioning itself as cool for being “old-school mass-market,” even though it’s owned by Diageo, which markets the premium Ketel One with messaging of craftsmanship and small batches. The commercials, starring actors Alison Brie and Adam Scott, are uncomfortably unfunny, but the brand does have a point about the frippery of some artisanal brands and cocktail—it’s often over-the-top and unnecessary. [Time]
[YouTube: Smirnoff/The Mixologist]