Has Jim Beam Dropped Bethenny Frankel As The Skinnygirl Spokesperson? Plus Skinnydipping Lands On The Bestseller List!

Well, you win some; you lose some apparently. This week BeamGlobal, the company that now owns Skinnygirl Cocktails and its affiliates (they now offer wine and vodkas) unleashed its new ad campaign. The campaign tells us to “Drink Like A Lady,” and curiously absent is a person who is hardly ladylike at all – Bethenny Frankel!

“Bethenny started this brand in an amazing way,” says Kevin George, Beam’s SVP & Global CMO told Forbes. “But as we look to consumer research of what women are looking for in terms of calorie-consciousness and convenience, we found there’s a huge group of people who are into that but actually don’t know who Bethenny is yet.” Imagine that?!

Perhaps once her new talk show debuts, her fans may increase, but as Beam seeks to take the Skinnygirl line global, Bethenny Ever After isn’t a well-known show. Although I have to wonder if BeamGlobal feels the weekly meltdowns featured on BEA may be hurting the brand…

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The company isn’t firing Bethenny, per se, they’re just diminishing her association with the brand. “The core values of what Bethenny represents and build the brand around resound through the new campaign,” says Deb Boyda, the general manager of venture business teams. And Beam is hoping their new campaign will speak to women like Bethenny, women they dub “social ringleaders.”

AKA, women between the ages of 30 and 40 who are the “it girls” in their social circle. <<Excuse me while I burst out laughing.>> Beam continues, “The leaders, the entrepreneurs, the party planners, the tastemakers who want to have all the cocktails that they want but are health-conscious, and will share the news with their friends.” Are these really the people drinking pre-bottled cocktails?

“The whole idea of the ‘Drink like a Lady’ campaign is meant to help women redefine cocktailing,” Deb Boyda adds. “But also to redefine what it means to be a lady.” And apparently what it girls and ladies have in common is a desire for low-cal bottled beverages – well, according to Beam. A sample of their new ad is below!

“There used to be a narrow definition of what it means to be a lady, and nowadays there’s a much more empowered view of young women, something Bethenny has definitely played a hand in,” she says. In order to redefine lady drinkers, Beam’s Skinnygirl team is comprised completely of women and Bethenny is their goddess. “We’re upholding Frankel’s irreverent spirit and strong feminine values,” Boyda says. “Those things that Bethenny represents, Skinnygirl represents as well.” Using Bethenny to define ladies is a real stretch – like English Channel wide.

“There’s a lot more to come from Skinnygirl,” Beam President Bill Newlands stresses. “It stands for something: an empowered, strong, fun woman. But it also stands for balanced health.” Which is why the company is now doing vodka and wine. Because getting trashed is healthy. Good to know my college binge drinking years were healthy!

In other news, this week Bethenny’s first “novel” Skinnydipping eked its way onto the NY Times Bestseller list where it plopped into 15th place. Bethenny’s semi-autographical memovel (that’s memior novel) was apparently a success amongst her legions of fans – although the reviews on Amazon leave much to be desired, but we’ll get to that later on today.

Bethenny, of course, credits all of us for shelling out our hard-earned dollars on yet another one of her endless products. “THANK YOU ALL!!!!! #SKINNYDIPPING is a @nytimes BESTSELLER!!!! This is because of you & only you-the best fans in the world!,” she announced on Twitter. A video of Bethenny congratulating herself and all of you is below!

DO IT GIRLS DRINK SKINNYGIRL COCKTAILS? DID YOU BUY SKINNYDIPPING?



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