Knob Creek’s drunken nonsense campaign.

This week we introduce a new Adiocracy column to address the huge volume of ad nonsense out there these days.

For its inaugural post, we’ve picked a campaign for Knob Creek we’ve been observing for a while. As bourbon drinkers we always like to see a bourbon brand put it out there. And we like the smoky, vintage, collaged look of the campaign.

What we take issue with are the monkey nonsense headlines meant to be, we gather, statements of confident male purpose. The problem is, they come across as the kind of drunken drivel your punning uncle might make. The sort of quips you can only nod your head at in lame acknowledgement.

Not that we’re looking for profundity from a mid-list bourbon. But the brand has worked hard to create both a culture and a community. But more often than not, when you try to be profound you come across sounding either incredibly precious or super obvious. Variously, the headlines in this campaign achieve both with statements like, ‘The presence of a bar stool shouldn’t prevent you from standing for something’ and non-statements like, ‘No matter how loud the bar, you can always hear your own voice.’

Bourbon is one of those alcohols that can build a brand on mood alone, and these ads do create mood. Unfortunately, like any handsome drunk, the mood is ruined once he opens his mouth.

That’s our take. What’s yours?