Mangesh Hattikudur
Catchy Japanese Kid’s Beer Commercial
by Mangesh Hattikudur - June 1, 2007 - 9:08 AM

Australian News is reporting that the Japanese company that makes fake beer for kids is expanding their product line to include kiddie wine, champagne and cocktails. Stunning. Of course, while the ethics of marketing a non-alcoholic beverage to kids that tastes like apple juice but comes in 6-packs (and pours with a head) are murky to say the least, I’ve got to say I prefer this commercial to anything Budweiser has ever done. Go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go, Kampai!

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (10)

  1. Ironic that only yesterday, I passed the detox centre in the city where I live. As if Japan does not have enough social problems without breeding a new generation of alcoholics.

    posted by Mary McClavey on 6-1-2007 at 9:21 am

  2. Well, I like to drink Blue Beaver Beer and my 11 month old nephew likes his Blue Beaver apple juice when I babysit him. I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s like a bonding experience.

    posted by Ernie on 6-1-2007 at 9:37 am

  3. I had to watch that about five times for it to really sink in. Stupendous!

    posted by Ransom on 6-1-2007 at 9:53 am

  4. Kiddie Crack
    Baby Blow
    Ampheta-teen
    Wax syringes full of sugary liquid?

    posted by Bassman on 6-1-2007 at 11:47 am

  5. I wonder if they will have to print the phone number for ALA-Teen on the box?
    Sorry, That’s just sad:(

    posted by CropTillDawn on 6-1-2007 at 3:36 pm

  6. The behavioral patterns that kids learn or imitate matter. Some people think that kids want to imitate adults, so why not let them do it in a safe way? Because they’ll wonder what the difference is, and when you combine enormous curiosity with kid’s innate feelings of invincibility, you have a bad blend.
    My mom saw her dad smoking a cigarette when she was nine and begged for him to let her take a puff. He gave her the cigarette, and that was the day she started smoking . . . at nine years old. She quit when she was 25, but by then it had already damaged her air passage and her lungs, and to this day she has a chronic cough (thankfully no sign of cancer, though).

    I understand wanting to turn a profit, but this is just a bad idea.

    posted by Larissa on 6-1-2007 at 5:13 pm

  7. Drinking in other cultures is different than drinking in America, however. I’m sure plenty of you know people who grew up in Europe, drinking wine with their families at a young age. I knew a few when I was in high school, all of whom were older than me, and they never drank like the rest of us did when we hit college. They grew up knowing about wine and drinking, so they never went binge drinking. Not that the two are mutually exclusive by any means, but I don’t think this fake kiddie beer is really that bad.

    posted by Kate on 6-2-2007 at 12:19 pm

  8. My dad is French, and I grew up knowing that if I wanted to drink wine or whatever that I could; all I had to do was ask. Now, to be honest, I don’t like wine, or any other kind of alcoholic beverage (this makes my French grandmother incredibly upset) but I never had any urge to go sneaking into my parent’s wine cellar, or liquor cabinet (and we had some really good high quality stuff in there) because I knew I could just ask to try it when my parents had it. My brother drinks (in normal, acceptable, non-alcoholic ways) and he has the same attitude about alcohol that I have. It wasn’t taboo, or hidden, it was an acceptable social norm, that adults drank, and if you wanted to taste it you could.
    That being said, they have had fake champagne (Champigny) in France for quite a while (so that the kids can have something to drink on New Year’s and stuff) and it actually has a minute amount of alcohol in it- it’s cider- what you would call in English hard cider, but they call it soft cider in French.
    I do think that the company in Japan is taking it a bit far, but I think at some point parents need to step in and PARENT their children. Be aware of where they are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing- talk to them.

    posted by greenstrawberries on 6-3-2007 at 10:29 pm

  9. FYI, “kampai” is Japanese for “cheers!” And even if I hadn’t known that, I would think this company has gone way over the line. To make a long rant short, monkey see, monkey do, right?

    posted by BGodA on 6-6-2007 at 8:22 pm

  10. I live in Japan… unfortunately, Kid’s Beer tastes like normal beer (well, worse.) It was originally created by a beer company too…and sadly, it isn’t a new product.

    The slogan I see at restaurants is: “Be like an adult and drink with your parents!”

    >.

    posted by descendfromgrace on 7-23-2008 at 10:15 am

Comment

commenting policy