I Held My Breath

Right after my last post, dissing the low-brow marketing of an Oregon winery who seems to do little more than slap on wine labels that play off crude sexual innuendo, I had the pleasure of manning a festival booth for our magazine, right behind the winery's booth at the show.

I suppose it was my imagination that someone from the winery always seemed to engage eye contact whenever I walked by. Yeah, right. They were way too busy to notice me! Every now and then, as part of their oh-so-clever-marketing, someone from the winery would bellow out across the hall "Did you say five men and two women just got Naked?!?" . . . meaning, of course, that five men and two women just got some Naked Wine.

Of course the crude provocation worked: their booth was swamped the entire time with people giddily making bad sex puns. I'm sure it is all very much fun. I've got a pretty randy and risque sense of humor myself, and am not afraid of using it in mixed public company, but to hang your entire marketing message on it still seems base to me.

But not to them, nor to their customers. The winery folks weren't watching me with daggers in their eyes; they probably don't even know I exist. And even if they did, why should they care? Their schtick is working just fine, thank you. And I know in any argument over taste and wine they'll have the last laugh . . . all the way to the bank!