Boycott Bacardi: Your Summer Rum Buying Guide
![jason-perlow](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/70cadffdf7df735152f34acdeb275f8b0e4ac35d/2022/08/05/8ee616a1-94ee-439e-9574-58f014ae5ef0/jason-perlow.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
Bacardi's misogynistic Israeli Internet advertising campaign will only get them scores of disdain from American consumers. What the hell was Bacardi thinking?
I had to see it to believe it. Bermuda-headquartered Bacardi, the world's largest spirits distiller, decided to launch a English and Hebrew language Internet ad campaign for Bacardi Breezers in Israel and on FaceBook (see cached link, original site seems to have been pulled) with online agency McCann Digital.
Click on the "Read the rest of this entry" link below for more.
While Bacardi and McCann Digital seem to have pulled their sites on the Web and FaceBook for now, you can still see the Google Cache of this utterly disgusting attempt at attracting customers. Maybe the Israelis have a strange sense of humor about these sort of things, but I find the campaign utterly degrading towards women, as the premise is that in order to make yourself look good this summer, you should find yourself an ugly girlfriend. The interactive, flash based web site features four ugly girlfriends, "Ugly Girlfriend for the Beach", "Ugly Girlfriend for the Mall", "Ugly Girlfriend for a BBQ", "Ugly Girlfriend for a Pool Party", all of which portray women in the most unflattering way.
[EDIT: Bacardi, in official response (see talkbacks) is claiming that the advertisement in question ran for two months in 2008, and does not support the views of the local affiliate that produced it. That's fine and dandy, but why wait so long to pull the site?]
I'm not going to go into depth on how stupid this ad campaign was, because other bloggers have done a much better job than I have in expressing their anger at this company. Instead, when I get angry at a major corporation for unbelievably stupid marketing decisions such as this, I prefer to vote with my wallet.
Being something of a rum enthusiast myself, and having a collection of over 50 different kinds from all parts of the world, I've decided to provide a list of Bacardi alternatives so that you can make your rum drinks this summer without having to support a bunch of misogynistic, insensitive, callous jackasses.
![donqcristal.jpg](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/2014/10/03/e8715c79-4b36-11e4-b6a0-d4ae52e95e57/donqcristal.jpg)
Don Q Rum, produced by Serrales, the second largest spirits company in Puerto Rico, is a perfect analogue and swap-in replacement to Bacardi. Like Bacardi, it has the distinction of being inexpensive and easy to find at just about any liquor store, and it comes in both clear (Cristal) and dark (Anejo) forms as well as Lemon, Mojito and Passion Fruit versions. Don Q is also the preferred mixing rum of most Puerto Ricans, as it is generally less expensive than Bacardi. Serrales is also the same company that makes Captain Morgan and Palo Viejo.
While DonQ Cristal will easily sub in for Bacardi Superior/Carta Blanca, forWhile not currently available in the United States due to trade embargo, I'm also partial to the Havana Club 5 and 7 year olds, from Cuba, which can be easily purchased in Canada as well as most parts of Europe through any store which carries Pernod-Ricard products. For a similar tasting Cuban-style rum that is distributed in the United States, the Miami-headquartered and Cuban-American owned Matusalem makes really four really nice rums -- a white, gold, 7-year old and a 15-year-old Solera (my fave) from the Dominican Republic.
Also See: Ed Hamilton's Ministry of Rum Web Site
With the information I've armed you with, you'll have no need for Bacardi this summer or any other time of the year. What are your favorite Rum Drinks? Talk Back and Let Me Know.