“People just don’t get it. I simply say that there are only three places that have a “the” in front of their name: the Vatican, the Hague — and the Bronx…” said Bronxite and world renowned author Mary Higgins Clark in Arlene Alda’s ‘Just Kids From The Bronx‘.
And apparently neither does MillerCoors’ marketing team.
A billboard ad for Coors Light was placed along I87 aka the Major Deegan Expressway across from Yankee Stadium—one of the most visible locations in New York City—proclaiming, “BORN IN THE ROCKIES, LIVES IN BRONX.”
Wait, what? What’s Bronx?
Clearly this was yet another lazy job by the folks at MillerCoors that disrespects the communities they sell their product in.
It’s pretty simple and easy to know that we’re The Bronx and not Bronx. I mean for better or worse, we’re always in the media and the globe pretty much knows it’s THE Bronx whether in Spanish “El Bronx” or even the French, “Le Bronx”!
Welcome2TheBronx reached out to the marketing department at MillerCoors but no comment on their most recent faux pas has been released.
This isn’t the first time that there’s controversy over an ad campaign. In fact, it’s the third time in the New York City area that they have been sloppy.
For the 2011 Puerto Rican Day Parade, the company launched a campaign called ‘Emboricuate’ which loosely translated means become Puerto Rican and the campaign used the Puerto Rican flag and Coors beer cans. This campaign caused an outcry from the community rightfully offended by making it seem that to be Puerto Rican was to drink beer and not the rich cultural legacy of the island and its people.
Fast forward to 2013 and MillerCoors fumbles yet again by placing the Puerto Rican flag on Coors Light beer cans for the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
It’s quite clear that MillerCoors just wants to peddle its products without even having the slightest cultural sensitivity to the markets which they serve.
If they can’t take the time to do something right and research their target audiences then those that consume their products should just say NO to Coors Light or any MillerCoors product until they get their act together.
As Isaac Ambrose Moore of THE Bronx said, “Drink local! Gun Hill Brewing Company or Jonas Bronck’s Beer Co.!”
What do you think about the billboard?
Oh and one more thing: it’s The not the Bronx. Don’t forget to capitalize that ‘T’!
