Pernod Ricard’s recent "Responsib'All Day" action mobilized employees on five continents in its second annual day of service dedicated to education about responsible drinking. Its "mentor and messenger" efforts reached 18,000 employees worldwide in major cities including Sydney, Shanghai, New Delhi, Tokyo, Johannesburg and São Paulo, and UK-based staff from subsidiaries the Absolut Company and Premium Wine Brands.

"We have been promoting responsible drinking for more than 30 years. At Responsib'All Day, all of our employees are mobilised to help make things change. As a company, we are resolutely dedicated to strengthening our engagement with public authorities and NGOs to fight inappropriate drinking habits," stated Pernod Ricard CEO Pierre Pringuet in a press release.

Pernod Ricard USA’s Facebook platform, dubbed Here’s To Tomorrow, “will attempt to spark a social movement through a platform that encourages parents to take an immediate positive approach in discussing drinking with their underage children today in order to effect a better tomorrow.” With only 115 likes on its campaign Facebook page since launching a week ago, however, it's clearly not as easy to spark a social movement as the French alcohol brand purveyor may think.Continue reading...

Plenty of people were glad to see 2010 make its exit, but there does seem to be hope on the horizon for better times in 2011. Pernod Ricard, the maker of Absolut, Chivas Regal and Mumm Champagne, is feeling hopeful too, and what's good for the beverage giant is also good for others in the alcohol industry.

Pernod Ricard isn't out of the woods yet regarding the heavy debt burden that it took on when it bought Absolut two years ago for €5.6 billion ($7.34 billion) at the peak of the market.Continue reading...

Reports that Harris Tweed will be downplaying the "Scottishness" of its brand—in the wake of a purported backlash against all things Scottish due to its release of the Lockerbie bomber—are apparently unfounded.

Brand boycotts can serve a specific purpose. Nestlé is the target of a massive boycott due to “more violations of the World Health Assembly marketing requirements for baby foods than any other company,” and even the popular POM Wonderful brand faced a PETA boycott over animal testing. But boycotting all the brands of a particular country for the purported sins of some government officials can often lead to “freedom fries”-like silliness.Continue reading...