Coors doesn't understand biology

Coors unveils new ads for 2005. The press release states :

The new advertising engages consumers with humor, familiar social settings, and great music. The spots reinforce that Coors Light delivers the ultimate in cold refreshment, with the coldest tasting beer in the world.
"The heart of Coors Light marketing is to communicate that in every bottle, can and glass of Coors Light is the taste of Rocky Mountain cold refreshment," said Buxton. "In everything we do this year, we will engage our drinkers and dramatize our unique Coors Light benefits."

Unfortunately the ads continue on with the bastardising of the language with the tagline "Taste the cold".

Cold is something you feel, not something you taste. Even when drinking something cold, you're feeling the sensation of cold, not tasting it. That's be like saying "Coors. Looks wet." I understand that ad copy is allowed to break rules and all that but, this is obviously a lack of grasping the difference between the senses.

Perhaps they slept through their biology classes. And if any of you did too, here's a quick refresher. Taste sensations include salty, sour, sweet, bitter and umami (which responds to salts of glutamic acid). The last one is debated still, but either way, there's nothing about cold (or hot) on the list.

This really irks me about this campaign. It's inaccurate in attempting to communicate the benefit. And I think makes Coors look stupid. Anyhoo, the press release says the creative looks like this:

Coors Light Spots
"Silver Bullet Train" - Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: The O'Jay's "Love Train"
Tagline: "Taste the Cold"
Celebrity involvement: Ice T
Summary: This spot features a special Coors Light freight train that delivers Rocky Mountain cold refreshment to hot, thirsty people across the country. The train begins in the Rockies, loaded with Coors Light, and rolls through places like a NASCAR event, Miami Beach and a Hollywood red carpet event to the tune of The O'Jays hit song, "Love Train." The spot features a cameo appearance from rapper and actor Ice T.
"Busboy" - Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: Original music by Genuine Music
Tagline: "Taste the Cold"
Summary: This spot takes place in a neighborhood bar where an enthusiastic busboy is eagerly clearing tables of empty Coors Light bottles. When the waitress tells the bar manager how impressed she is with the new busboy, the manager replies, "I didn't hire a busboy." It becomes obvious that the busboy is an imposter, grabbing all the Coors Light bottles he can because he found out how to win free music downloads of previously unreleased music by artists such as Moby, Oasis, Brooks & Dunn, and John Legend.

"Shock" - Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: Original music by Genuine Music
Summary: This spot takes place in a hospital where our lead character is smiling, firmly clutching a Coors Light bottle, and appears to be in shock. A doctor is informed that he froze up with excitement upon learning how to participate in a Coors Light promotion and win tickets to the Super Bowl as well as prizes from the NFL properties and their partners. Suddenly, the doctor dives for the bottle, grabbing and pulling to get the bottle from the patient's tight grip.

"Plastic Cooler Box" - Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: Original music by I Dig Music
Summary: This spot supports the product launch of the new Coors Light Cooler Box filled with 18 16-ounce plastic bottles in a specially lined box that holds ice. The spot takes place on the beach where two guys check out a beautiful woman and her icy-cold Cooler Box.

"Mom" - Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: Original music by I Dig Music
Tagline: "Taste the Cold"
Summary: A guy at a backyard pool with his girlfriend and her parents takes a gulp of Coors Light just as his girlfriend's mom gets out of the pool. After his refreshing gulp, the guy says, "Ahh, nice". Unfortunately for him, his girlfriend, her mom and dad think his "Ahh, nice" comment was directed at mom.

"Phone Call" - Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: Original music by I Dig Music
Tagline: "Taste the Cold"
Summary: A guy in his living room finally works up the nerve to call a woman he recently met. While dialing her number he takes a refreshing gulp of Coors Light. Just as she answers the phone, he says, "Ahh." Unfortunately for him, she mistakes his "Ahh" as an obscene sound from a perverted caller.

Pete Coors: "Windows;" "Up Here;" "Memory;" and "Rockies" - Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" by Emoto Music
Summary: These four spots feature Pete Coors as a spokesman for Coors Light. Set in the snow-peaked Rocky Mountains, Pete speaks frankly about why Coors Light has a uniquely refreshing cold taste, while answering questions like, "How refreshing is your beer? Where was your beer born? Is your beer Rocky Mountain cold?"

"Ice City" - Re-edit by Foote Cone & Belding, Chicago
Music: Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song"
Tagline: "Taste the Cold"
Summary: This spot, which was originally created by the Leith Agency and was re-edited by Foote Cone & Belding, shows how a Rocky Mountain cold Coors Light can turn a dreary hot summer day into a wonderful icy-cold experience.

Hispanic Spots
"Beach" - Bromley Communications
Music: Original
Tagline: "Asi de fria" ("It's cold like that")
Summary: The spot opens at a beach where a group of friends is hanging out during a hot summer day. A group of friends go to the beach bar to get icy cold Coors Light. When a Coors Light can is opened, the coldness of Coors Light spreads throughout the beach, freezing a table, a volleyball net, and even the sand. The music gets louder and the party gets better.

"Bar" - Bromley Communications
Music: Original
Tagline: "Asi de fria" ("It's cold like that")
Summary: The spot takes place at a "norteno," a regional Mexican bar, where a group of male and female friends who have just left the dance floor are extremely hot. When one of the guys opens a Coors Light bottle, it releases the cold of Coors Light and we see how the cold mist is enjoyed by a woman who is playing pool. The ice cold Coors Light freezes the pool table, snow flurries fall from a ceiling fan and even the dance floor becomes frozen.

"Rooftop" - Bromley Communications
Music: Original
Tagline: "Asi de fria" ("It's cold like that")
Summary: The commercial takes place at an urban rooftop where a group of friends is watching a boxing game. The afternoon is hot and the friends clearly need some refreshment. One of the guys cracks open a Coors Light, releasing a cold that freezes the "chicharrones" (a Hispanic snack), the TV screen and eventually the whole neighborhood. People are so refreshed that they start dancing and the party gets better.

"Ice City" - Re-edit by Bromley Communications
Music: Original
Tagline: "Asi de fria" ("It's cold like that")
Summary: This spot, which was originally created by the Leith Agency and was re-edited by Bromley Communications, shows how a Rocky Mountain cold Coors Light and Latino hip hop music can turn a dreary hot summer day into a wonderful icy-cold experience for a group of Latino friends.

African American/Urban Spot
"Ice House DJ" - Carol H. Williams Advertising
Music: Original
Tagline: "Taste the Cold"
Summary: It's a hot night in the city and a guy enters a hot, exciting club. Everyone is dancing and enjoying the night but they're clearly hot. The DJ mixes it up by opening a cold Coors Light and spreading cold refreshment, seen visually as frost, throughout the party. The frost chills the mic, the speakers and everyone on the dance floor. The spot demonstrates the cold refreshment of Coors Light in an urban setting.

Quite honestly, I think the Hispanic spots have a much better tagline than the English/Urban spots. "It's cold like that" is great and a thousand times better than "Taste the cold" which is just inane. Hopefully Coors will bring it over to their "general" advertising campaign.

Here are a couple of recent spots. SuperAdgrunts click to view the ads. Not a SuperAdgrunt? Take our rather difficult AdLand Quiz: Ad Trivia, Truth and Myth to enter the contest for a chance to win a free upgrade for a month!

Coors Light- Facts - Super Bowl