Advertising fail: Bailey’s and “Be a woman for a cause, not for applause” ad

By Tiffany

By the title, you can probably tell what I’m going to say about the Bailey’s advertisement I found in Delta Sky Magazine last month.

Source: Delta Sky Magazine

Source: Delta Sky Magazine

Yes, it was a #fail. While flipping through the magazine on my way to San Diego for Thanksgiving, I saw this beautiful woman with natural hair. I wasn’t expecting to see natural hair in the magazine, and was pleasantly surprised to find it. But when I got over the initial excitement, I was left confused. Lost, even. The tagline for the ad read: “Be a woman for a cause, not for applause”. I read it. Re-read it. And then re-read it again. And I still did not understand it. I wanted to elbow the person next to me and get them to decipher it for me. But I decided against that. No creepiness allowed. I’m too fly for that.

I tried to understand how drinking Bailey’s and being a woman for a cause went together. I couldn’t get it. As I continued to eye the ad, I started to see more things out of place. Take, for instance, the placement of the bottle and her glass. It’s basically floating on her leg at the end of a piano *blank stare*.

UPDATE: I did some more research, and found this summary of the advertising campaign from DrinksBrands.com. Here’s what Global Brand Director, Garbhan O’Bric, had to say:

“We’ve always been at our best and truest to ourselves when we’ve celebrated the brilliance and magnificence of women and with this new campaign we are reaffirming that timeless truth, but are doing it with a modern twist.”

Here’s the 90-second commercial that goes with the campaign targeting women:

With all that said, what Bailey’s got right was the model. I love her look, from her hair to her jewelry. But I’m not a fan of cryptic taglines and floating images.

What does the tagline mean to you? Am I missing something?

6 thoughts on “Advertising fail: Bailey’s and “Be a woman for a cause, not for applause” ad”

  1. Advertising fail: Bailey’s and “Be a woman for a cause, not for applause” ad
    (JMHO). Be a woman for a CAUSE to me would mean do something with your life. Not for APPLAUSE to me would mean rather than wait for compliments.

    • I get that. What you’re saying makes sense. But how does that relate to drinking Bailey’s? By itself, the tagline makes perfect sense. But I don’t get it in this context.

  2. The lady and everything in the Bailey’s ad is good. That’s where it ends. (JMHO) It’s like a good actor in a bad movie. A good singer doing a poorly written and played song. A great player supported by pitful teammates. What I’m saying once you look past the attractive actress the commerical just fails. People with keen minds will see the same thing. When looking into the commerical and not the actress the commerical was poorly designed.That’s why drinking Bailey’s and being a woman for a cause doesn’t work or makes sense. Thats just how I see it. As always Tiffany I wish you the utmost best life offers you. Bye.

    • You make some good points, and I agree that it’s like a good actor in a bad movie. lol. The tagline could work in an ad or commercial for a charity, non-profit, some type of cause. Not liquor.

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