A PLUM Agency Blog

On the heels of a spectacular Memorial Day weekend and one hell of an office party last week, I made a startling discovery. PBR is actually awesome.

Pabst Blue Ribbon (for those of you living under a rock) is a cheap domestic beer. Beloved by the average American for many years, it was adopted by the Williamsburg hipster, similar species native to Portland, and denizens of other ironic areas. Hipsters have been enjoying PBR (ironically of course) for the better part of a decade, and the PBR hipster romance seems to be going strong. Just in case the spark ever fades, the Pabst Blue Ribbon company proudly brews 12 other once defunct classic beers, including another gem, Schaefer. Schaefer at one time held the title of world’s best selling beer until being overtaken by some beer called Budweiser, but that’s a story for another day…

Plain and simple, PBR is a great cheap beer. But beyond this basic fact, how has PBR managed to cultivate such a following and assume its place on menus from the dingiest basement bars of Bed-Stuy to the trendiest restaurants of the West Village—where it’s paired with whiskey and pickle juice—to the grocery aisles of Gristedes? Certainly not through the kind of overt marketing that has brought us words like ‘drinkability’ and bottles with all sorts of grooves and other unnecessities. It’s a prime example of a grassroots movement coupled with a product that can back it up.

Bottom’s up to Pabst for making it cool and fashionable to be seen with a dirt-cheap beer in hand and for making it the talk of beer convos coast to coast…all without Madison Ave 30 second TV telling us to drink the stuff.

Sound off in the comment section. Why do you like/dislike PBR? What’s given PBR its resurgence?

So summer officially starts on June 21^st.  Big whoop.  PLUM is ready to celebrate now!  It’s warm, the sun is shining (mostly), and New Jerseyites have begun to invade every roof deck and riverside bar in Manhattan.  Sounds a lot like summer to me.   So bust out the sangria, dust off the golf clubs (or bocce, if that’s your thing), bust out those shorts your girl/boyfriend hates and get ready for the time of year that makes you forget the winter (Note: Southern Californians, we get it, you don’t have winter, you also don’t have souls…)

Things we love about summer:

• Sundresses
• Iced Tea
• Ice T
• Plastic Flip Flops (the ones your dad wears)
• Fishnet tank tops (credit Taso)
• Taso’s Chest Hair
• Pool Parties
• Casual Friday
• Casual Thursday
• Slip and Slides
• The Beach
• Golf
• Male Thongs
• Music Festivals
• Boats
• BBQ’s

PLUM has planned a little celebration for this evening and all of the above will be featured prominently.  Not actually, but we will have good tunes and fresh sangria (Papa Mouhteros’s special recipe).

Been a busy week here, but it’s always important to take some time to appreciate the finer things in life.  Behold the latest and greatest marketing invention.

Once your frothy Guinness has been poured to the brim you get a QR code that allows you to check in at the bar on foursquare, tweet about the beer, or just show off that fancy smart phone.  Regardless, next time I’m at a bar and they have this you bet your ass I’m ordering a Guinness to try it out.

Read more from our friends at Mashable.

What do you think?  Cool?  Lame?  Somewhere in between?

So last night I had a chance to see The Avengers in 3D (because everything is in 3D whether you like it or not…can’t wait for Merchant Ivory to get on this too.)  After overcoming my initial shock at $32 for tickets for my date (woo!) and me, I settled in for one of the more enjoyable cinematic experiences I’ve had in a while.

I don’t get to go to the movies nearly as much as I would like.  But I do see enough releases to notice obvious trends, such as the sheer domination of super hero movies these days.  Now, on my blogger’s honor, I’ll rattle off those that come to mind in the past couple of years:

• Green Lantern
• Captain America
• Iron Man I
• Iron Man II
• Batman The Dark Knight
• Wolverine (Don’t know the exact name)
• Thor
• X-Men First Class
• The Avengers

I could google and come up with three times as many, but that took three seconds and proves my point.  There are tons of these films coming out, and we’ll probably see another by the time I post this.  You’ll notice a couple of trends.  Many of these films are great.  Some are average.  Plenty are terrible.

I’m a child of the early 90s and had my share of comics and trading cards.  Let’s say I was at least a big enough fan to recognize the Stan Lee cameo and know the name of the grinning villain at the end of The Avengers (great cliffhanger).  Simply put, seeing my favorite Marvel cards come alive on the big screen starting over the past decade has been pure awesomeness.

It also got me thinking.  Are super hero flicks the westerns of my generation?  I remember my dad making me sit through classics like Shane and High Noon as a kid.  They weren’t complete snore fests, but they lacked much of the razzle-dazzle of Beverly Hills Cop III  (EPIC theme song) or whatever else I was watching then, and certainly pale in comparison to Chris Nolan’s latest triumphs.

But seriously, in a day and age where we average one good western every four years, have super hero flicks taken over that role?   The Avengers certainly had a good deal of grit, machismo, and patriotism—all key elements of the classic western films of bygone eras.  Protagonists like the grizzled Wolverine have more than a little cowboy in them.

vs.

Perhaps not a perfect comparison, but food for thought.  What do you think?

Oh and see The Avengers, it’s pretty entertaining and will probably out gross some other 3D flick called Avatar.

That’s Staten Island Sounds at Snug Harbor.  An awesome exhibition about to open…we thought we’d simply repost the exhibition’s info below.

Island Sounds: A 500-Year Music Mash Up
May 12, 2012–December 20, 2013
This interactive multimedia exhibition showcases memorabilia, instruments, artifacts, photos and videos from musicians who were born or based in Staten Island. Those recognized include 19th-century harpist Maud Morgan and famed tenor Enrico Caruso, and contemporary artists David Johansen (of New York Dolls), Vernon Reid (from Living Colour) and RZA (of Wu-Tang Clan), all of whom have contributed never-before-seen items to the show. Folk singer Joan Baez, who was born in Staten Island, and country legend Roy Clark (a former resident), as well as local talent such as Ingrid Michaelson and the Richmond County Orchestra, among many others, will also be featured.