Two days ago, Andes Beer uploaded an ad called “Hurricane Women” to YouTube. Asking why all the worst hurricanes are named after women (starting with Sandy, the most recent one to devastate my neighborhood), the video cuts to a man explaining his own devastation: Laura. Laura apparently left him and took everything, even the light bulbs which she claimed were hers, but in his mind, he bought them.
Is the ad funny? Yes. Is it going viral? Yes. Are some people upset about it? According to the current YouTube rating, about 20% are giving it a thumbs down – presumably because they feel it is in poor taste. Whether their dislike is spurred on by the ad’s leveraging of these awful storms or by the ad’s comparison of women to hurricanes is not clear. But as a woman for whom first-hand experience with Sandy is a very recent memory, I say lighten up. The ad is good. It’s funny. It’s memorable. And obviously they are not trying to disrespect any women. They are simply combining two age-old phenomena – acts of God and heartbreak – both of which they claim may be helped a little bit by a good beer.
I’d never heard of Andes Beer before. Now I have. And in two days so have over 350,000 other viewers. Mission accomplished.
~ @AdvertGirl
