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Arkiehawg

Beach Fanatic
Jul 14, 2007
1,882
393
SoWal
I heard about the Brombergs ads and was pretty surprised...particularly since Frank Bromberg is a former UA BOT member. I'm in marketing and one thing you learn as an undergrad is you NEVER divide your customer base. Brombergs did just that.


What were the ads? I didn't get to see them.
 

JB

Beach Fanatic
Nov 17, 2004
1,446
40
Tuscaloosa
What were the ads? I didn't get to see them.

Basically, they were ads that ran prior to the AU/UA game that dinged both UA and AU fans, playing on the "mixed marriage" thing. Story copied below.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
ROY L. WILLIAMS
News staff writer
Bromberg's is apologizing for a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign
that offended some Auburn University fans with references to
tobacco-chomping relatives and burped versions of the school's fight
song.

The Birmingham jeweler received phone calls and e-mails from upset
Auburn fans over an ad that described the school as a "Cow College" and
mentioned "tobacky spittin'" grandmothers.

Bromberg Executive Vice President Frank Bromberg III said Monday the
Auburn ad and a similar one targeting Alabama fans still living in the
Bear Bryant era were meant in jest.

"The point of the ad was to show that true love conquers all, even if
one person is an Alabama fan and the other is an Auburn fan," Bromberg
said.

Bromberg, a University of Alabama graduate, said the jeweler didn't get
complaints from Alabama fans. That's because the Auburn ad was
mean-spirited, said Auburn graduate Kara Kennedy, who works as director
of external affairs at Samford University' School of Business.

"Bromberg's just offended half of the state, and that's not good
marketing," added Kennedy, who has worked in public relations for over
a decade. "They've lost me as a customer."

The Auburn ad reads: "Whoever said love conquers all' obviously wasn't
in love with a Cow College grad. But even though her grandma was the
state tobacky-spittin' champ and she can burp out every bar of War
Eagle, your world revolves around her. So turn her thoughts from blue
and orange to wedding white with the perfect engagement ring from
Bromberg's."

The Alabama ad talks being in love with "Tide Pride gal" and "countless
stories of rigged officials and national championships won 20 years
before she was born."

Bromberg said the ad was created by Birmingham's Intermark Group. He
said Bromberg's approved the ad, but now wishes it hadn't. The ads
appeared in the chain's stores and in Friday's Birmingham News.
Bromberg said posters displaying both ads have been pulled from stores.

"If we had known this would be so offensive, we wouldn't have run the
ad," Bromberg said. He added: "In retrospect we now know the Auburn ad
went probably a lot further than it should have."

Jerry Chandler, an assistant professor of communications at
Jacksonville State University, said Bromberg's advertising misstep is
taking attention off its good name and long history in Alabama.
Bromberg's, around since 1836, is believed to be the state's oldest
family-owned business.

"They created a problem that didn't exist, and that's the last thing
you want to do," Chandler said. "Companies are supposed to try to put
out flames, not create them."

Bromberg said fallout from the ad spread further Saturday when copies
of the Auburn ad were distributed outside Jordan-Hare Stadium without
showing the Alabama ad, leading some to feel Bromberg's was picking on
Tiger fans.

"Some are calling for a boycott of Bromberg's," Bromberg said. "We are
responding to anybody that contacts us to say we're sorry."

Intermark issued a statement Monday saying the two ads were meant to be
humorous, poking fun at the history and traditions of Alabama and
Auburn.

"We hope that graduates and fans of both schools took the ads in the
spirit of fun in which they were intended," Intermark said. " In no way
were the ads to be taken seriously or literally and we sincerely
apologize if anyone was offended."
 

BeachSiO2

Beach Fanatic
Jun 16, 2006
3,294
737
It looks like someone may not be kept on as Bromberg's marketing firm in the future....
 

Arkiehawg

Beach Fanatic
Jul 14, 2007
1,882
393
SoWal
The Auburn ad reads: "Whoever said love conquers all' obviously wasn't
in love with a Cow College grad. But even though her grandma was the
state tobacky-spittin' champ and she can burp out every bar of War
Eagle, your world revolves around her. So turn her thoughts from blue
and orange to wedding white with the perfect engagement ring from
Bromberg's." :rotfl:


I think I met grandma a few years ago at Busters during a Arkansas/Auburn game. She also had so much plastic remodeling done, I was afraid that if she got next to a candle she would melt......:cool:
 

ShallowsNole

Beach Fanatic
Jun 22, 2005
4,292
849
Pt Washington
SKUNKY!!! Aren't you the one who told me not to ever, ever pick against my school again, after I picked BC to beat FSU and we won? WTH do you think I picked FSU to win last week, which would have required nothing short of a miracle? :blush:

You absolutely must suck it up and change yours to LSU. That's all. ;-)
 

30A Skunkape

Skunky
Jan 18, 2006
10,286
2,312
53
Backatown Seagrove
SKUNKY!!! Aren't you the one who told me not to ever, ever pick against my school again, after I picked BC to beat FSU and we won? WTH do you think I picked FSU to win last week, which would have required nothing short of a miracle? :blush:

You absolutely must suck it up and change yours to LSU. That's all. ;-)

No, I said that if your SOWAL nickname incorporated a mascot you were obligated to choose that team. I think there is a AA or NAIA team with some sort of gorilla for a mascot, but no skunkapes. Although now that I think about it, I think South Florida should change their nickname to 'skunkapes'. South Florida Skunkapes sounds better to me than South Florida Bulls.
 

JB

Beach Fanatic
Nov 17, 2004
1,446
40
Tuscaloosa
No, I said that if your SOWAL nickname incorporated a mascot you were obligated to choose that team. I think there is a AA or NAIA team with some sort of gorilla for a mascot, but no skunkapes. Although now that I think about it, I think South Florida should change their nickname to 'skunkapes'. South Florida Skunkapes sounds better to me than South Florida Bulls.

Pittsburg State...The Gorillas. I think Dennis Franchione coached there early in his sorry-ass career.
 

Miss Kitty

Meow
Jun 10, 2005
47,017
1,131
69
Keep an eye on him for me LadyD:wave:

Look out for that BR, too. ;-)

SKUNKY!!! Aren't you the one who told me not to ever, ever pick against my school again, after I picked BC to beat FSU and we won? WTH do you think I picked FSU to win last week, which would have required nothing short of a miracle? :blush:

You absolutely must suck it up and change yours to LSU. That's all. ;-)

Agree! Skunky, I am ashamed of you! :nono1:
 
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