IHT Article: Selling Vodka with a Feminine Twist

This is an excellent article on how a country FULL of vodka, where EVERYONE drinks vodka is trying to position new types of VODKA with VODKA DRINKERS.

A marketers nightmare, perhaps?

MOSCOW: The vodka ads tiling the walls of the Moscow metro station’s escalators abound with hypermasculine imagery. One poster for the Olymp brand in the central Tverskaya metro station shows a boxer with Cro-Magnon features wearing armor and chain mail, and carries the slogan: “The time for the strong has come.”

Recently, a new billboard has appeared here, displaying a lavender-tinged bottle with a distinctive feminine shape, adorned in a white skirt billowing upward, à la Marilyn Monroe, to reveal the label, Damskaya.

“Between us girls,” is the catchphrase for this vodka intended for women.

As the economy continues its skyward race, marketers are taking note of Russian women and the discretionary income they represent. Scores of seemingly unisex products, from cigarettes to juice, breakfast cereals and even mobile phone plans have adopted a feminine flare. A fleet of pink taxis with female drivers spares the women here the callous flirtation of male cabbies.

And now there is vodka for women.

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Give Nigella’s Bottom a Break

The Defamer reports that the Food Network and others are feeling that TV Host Chef Nigella Lawson’s bottom half may have gotten a tad too large for television, and her director is putting a lot of work into not showing her “better half.”

“Between all the too-hairy, too-skinny, too-mental coverage womankind is getting in the media these days, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there are better places to be than in the spotlight. And now it seems even sextastic television chefs – i.e., people who are generally accepted as being able to eat FOOD, as opposed to the sunlight and roasted almonds that the other female stars are served up – aren’t immune to the exacting pressure of waistlines and bum sizes.

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EMERIL LAGASSE AND PLANET GREEN PARTNER

EMERIL LAGASSE AND PLANET GREEN PARTNER WITH WHOLE FOODS MARKET® ON INNOVATIVE NEW SERIES


Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse joins Planet Green and will share his philosophy for fresh, top quality food with viewers this summer in the new original series EMERIL GREEN (wt). Planet Green, Discovery Communications’ new 24/7 eco-lifestyle television network, is set to launch in June 2008 with a full slate of original series and specials premiering throughout the summer, including EMERIL GREEN.

The series is shot exclusively at Whole Foods Market. Eileen O’Neill, president and general manager of Planet Green, made the announcement:

“EMERIL GREEN (wt) joins two greats in the world of cuisine. With his dynamic and entertaining style, Emeril has inspired millions of people to experience the joy of food and cooking. Whole Foods Market has been a leader in making organic and sustainably produced food a part of our daily lives,” said O’Neill. “Together, they are the winning ingredients for an innovative series that will redefine food shows for the new green culture.”

With an increased focus on organic and locally grown foods, many Americans are often confused –sometimes even intimidated — about how to cook healthy meals for their families. In EMERIL GREEN (wt), Lagasse shares how the best meals start with high quality produce, seafood and meats, and helps families get inspired by using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Shot on location at Whole Foods Market, Lagasse works with everyday cooks with real culinary challenges, enlisting the help of the knowledgeable team at Whole Foods Market and other experts to hand pick the best ingredients for every recipe, turning ordinary meals into extraordinary experiences. Faced with questions about quality, cost, taste and even some daunting food dares, Lagasse helps viewers conquer their culinary fears with an open mind and a healthy curiosity.
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TasteTV Celebrity Chef Updates

Celebrity Chefs Update – Nigella Lawson

The Chicago Tribune reports that Nigella Lawson, star of “Nigella Bites” on the Food Network and author of “How to Be A Domestic Goddess,” is going to be at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago in November to titillate the locals, as well as promote her new Food Network show called “Nigella Express.”

Though she doesn’t officially qualify for the TasteTV list of Sexy Chefs, or even Sexy Dishes, she does qualify as “a very appealing Chef,” which is our version of second place.

In case anyone is wondering, to be fair, we are not comparing her to well-known female celebs listed as Sexy such as Vanessa Hudgens, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Amanda Beard, Tila Tequila, or even Jessica Alba. TasteTV has its own standards, which our TasteMakers Social Club helps produce.

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Jason Priestley and 90210 Wine Tasting?

Amy Rosen of the National Post in Canada reported:

Jason Priestley and Terry David Mulligan do some swishing and swilling at various wine regions as co-hosts of Hollywood and Vines, a new show on StarTV. The Barenaked Ladies’ Steven Page is a Canadian oenophile who owns a piece of Canada’s Vines magazine. A handful of Canadian celebs are dipping into the wine business. It all raises the question: Is this a recipe for deliciousness or are they corking disaster? Amy Rosen investigates

Jason Priestley’s involvment in such a wine show is confirmed by Celeb Talk, Wine Expression, and TV Guides. The website for the program, which airs apparently now on the Travel Channel or Star-TV – maybe – is here www.hollywoodandvinestv.com

By the way, Wine Expressions has their own version of this type of show, which you can see here.

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Chef Ramsay Rants Ravingly about Rubbish and Ronald McDonald


Alliteration is a beautiful thing. Actually, this article says the Chef Ramsay rants about burgers, but since the word “burgers” doesn’t begin with the letter “R,” we took creative license with this blogpost’s title. On the other hand, one person’s “Rubbish” is another person’s “Crap,” and Ramsay does use that word in his opinion below:

A rival’s praise for the Big Mac raises chef Gordon Ramsay to boiling point.

The brash and confrontational Gordon Ramsay is as well known for his bad temper and four-letter outbursts as for his unquestionable culinary flair.

Now the Glasgow-born chef has picked a fresh target for his rage – the Big Mac. In a rare interview, he also offered a tantalising insight into the drive and ferocious temper that have propelled him from chopping vegetables in pub kitchens to a multimillion-dollar international empire.

But a few scores need to be settled.

Ramsay-watchers will not be surprised to learn that there’s a history behind his latest outburst. In his attack on junk food, he rekindles his war with mentor-turned-nemesis Marco Pierre White.

White has just horrified the world of haute cuisine by claiming that the secret of his success was the Knorr chicken-stock cube. But it was his comments about the fast-food chain McDonald’s that really enraged his fiery former pupil.

“From a chef’s point of view, Marco is talking absolute utter crap,” Ramsay says in the kitchen of his eponymous west London restaurant.
To read more in the New Zealand Herald, go here

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