Nice target.

I don’t know if you’ve been to a 7-11 lately, but they are promoting a new energy drink - Inked. Via the Convenience Store News (I’m as surprised as you are that this exists):

“Most other energy drinks on the market target a male audience through extreme sports sponsorships, alternative rock music and ‘darker’ macho graphics,” Michele Little, 7-Eleven category manager of non-carbonated beverages, said in a statement. “The tattoo culture crosses all those interests, and with Inked, we hope to reach the male extreme sports and alt-rock fan base without forgetting about the females. Instead of an emblem of patriotism or mark of rebellion, today’s tattoos have become status symbols, first among celebrities like athletes and performing artists, and now with the young and hip.”

I understand where this is coming from. I think I understand what they’re trying to do. If I’m reading between the lines correctly, they’re trying to appeal to who they see as tastemakers. The young, urban, alt-rock fans of the world are pretty much the deciding force in what becomes popular and deserving of some attention. Problem is, they are also the least likely to have a tribal armband tattoo let alone be interested in a can of soda that sports one. Extreme sports, on the other hand, are not a valid point of entry to good taste. The image of the cool, extreme sports dude hocking some form of drink or food or all around good times has been jammed down more throats than Ron Jeremy. It was a worthy choice for parody eleven years ago when Poochie helped Itchy and Scratchy jump the shark on The Simpsons and that’s where the image should have died.

To be certain, there is an obvious market for Inked. All around North America, there are dipshits cranking Nickelback and Default out of their trucks and sports cars open windows. They are not the young and hip. They are not tastemakers unless by tastemakers you mean the fuel of the fire in some 12 year old kids gut that tells them they never want to be like that. The huge audience that energy drinks appeal to seems to me to be the binge drinker who downs an energy drink to keep on drinking. It’s no real mystery why Red Bull has been marketed to bars is it? In that respect, it’s perfect. There is no reason to try to make its audience something different than it is. Take ownership of that demographic, embrace the dipshits of the world because the “young and hip” aren’t buying.