UK bans people from getting Stiffy’s
Colin Joliat Stiffy’s, the drink with arguably the best name in the UK’s alcohol industry, has officially been forced to change their name.
In considering the complaint, the Panel noted that ‘stiffy’ was a common slang term for an erection and considered that the brand name therefore had strong sexual connotations. The company, Stiffy’s Shots Ltd (trading as VC2) maintained that the brand name had been chosen because ‘Stiffy’ was the nickname of a person involved in the development of the drink; it had not been chosen for its sexual connotations. The Panel acknowledged that while the company may not have deliberately set out to link the product with sexuality, the brand name alluded to sexual success and accordingly found the product in breach of the responsibility Code.
Molson Coors was the one who originally filed the complaint against Stiffy’s that resulted in the ban. I’m not one for boycotts, but needless to say I won’t be tapping the Rockies anytime soon. There’s one main thing to note from the report. They have dozens of awesomely offensive words in the UK that are well beyond anything in American English, yet we share stiffy in common. I like knowing that it’s joyfully juvenile nature crosses any and all oceans. Apparently they don’t use it in the same way as we do though. The regulating body suggests that it refers to “sexual success,” as opposed to an erect penis (thank link isn’t porn, I promise). If that’s all it took to succeed sexually, every 6th grade boy on the planet would be walking around in a “Worlds Best Lover” t-shirt right now.
If you happen to be across the pond and are looking to buy this to show your support for cocky branding techniques, you can now find it on the shelves as Stivy’s.
via PortmanGroup
comment on this story
blog comments powered by Disqus