Website Seeks To Lure Drinkers To Sherry
Filed under: Wine
Can sherry be made cool? Advertising Age says that a Seattle ad agency called Creature has been given the task of bringing a drink more seen in classic literature than in local bars back into the spotlight. Creature has created a website called the Secret Sherry Society for The Sherry Council of America. The site includes a digital castle for visitors to explore. Rooms contain videos and information on types of sherry, sherry cocktails and the history of sherry. The hope is that the site will acquaint the uninitiated with sherry in a new fun way. Sherry isn't exactly trending hot with younger drinkers. The Sherry Council has been hosting dinners for the media and key influencers to try and create a sherry buzz. The Ad Age article makes reference to the connection between hip-hop and cognac. The sherry website is well-designed but websites alone don't usually drive a person to purchase a product. The site doesn't quite bridge the gap between information and action by defining what occasions might call for a glass of sherry. While it has a sense of the old much like absinthe does, there is no similar sense of mystery behind it. When is the last time you drank sherry? Does sherry need a celebrity spokesperson or a big ad campaign to help it gain traction in the marketplace?
The Australian government recently had a mighty task, finding new names for Sherry and Tokay, the fortified wine names that Australia agreed to stop using since they apply to specific European wines. Sherry will now be called Apera, a name meant to suggest an aperitif, and Tokay will be known as Topaque. The new names have been registered with the trademarks body, IP Australia and if confirmed Apera will be on the market next year. Sherry will be phased out in 2010 but Tokay producers have a full ten years to changeover. 
