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Making Lemonade out of Hard Lemonade

By GEOFF WILLIAMS, AOL SMALL BUSINESS
Posted: 2009-08-03 17:53:38
Filed Under: Small Business, Marketing
Cycles Gladiator Wine
www.cyclesgladiator.com
You have to give this company credit. It knows how to make the best out of a bad situation.

For three years now, Cycles Gladiator Wines, which is produced by Hahn Family Wines in Soledad, California, has been sold in the state of Alabama without a problem, but the Alabama Beverage Control Board has decided that the wine label is pornographic. It features an 1895 painting by French artist G. Massias; the painting shows a woman in profile in the nude, flying through the air, hanging onto a bicycle.

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    Naturally, since so many kids and easily offended people are exposed to wine bottles, the board decided that they should ban Cycles Gladiator Wine from the state.

    Bill Legion, the president of Hahn Family Wines, told Lagniappe, Mobile, Alabama's alternative bi-weekly newspaper, that the Alabama Beverage Control Board had approved the label when it began selling in 2006, but that they had changed their minds when they received a singular complaint from a customer.

    In any case, the Alabama Beverage Control Board recently sent a letter to stores and restaurants, ordering them to stop selling Cycles Gladiator wine.

    Legion observes of Massias' work, it's "one of the most sought-after pieces of art in the world." Original lithographs of the Cycles Gladiator image sell for up to $50,000. "When I first came up with the idea for the label," Legion told Lagniappe, "it's because I saw [the painting] everywhere."

    But, oh well. Legion isn't daunted. Like any good entrepreneur, he sees an opportunity. He is complying with the beverage board's request -- not like he has much choice -- and they won't sell their wine in Alabama. Of course, he could have come up with a special, sanitized label just for Alabama, but instead, he is starting a new marketing campaign called, "Banned in Bama."

    And since word has gotten out, reportedly, traffic to their web site and sales have been going up. Considering that only about 500 cases of Cycles Gladiator Wines were being sold annually in Alabama, Legion's company should make out quite well. It almost makes one wonder if business professors at universities should be teaching entrepreneurs to try to get their product banned in at least one state. It could be the best thing to ever happen to a business.

    2009-05-03 15:02:45
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    565 comments

    williamshillcree 03:37:29 PM Sep 30 2009

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    AOL has had this ad on for what 6 weeks? Why do we care? AOL must have stock in this or getting a kick back. There are so many other stories that are more important than this now.

    icmnorthcliffe 12:02:09 PM Sep 25 2009

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    wow what a bunch of weird comments..RMCFA makes it political...bottom line ONE person objected and the ENTIRE state bans a product...does anyone else thinks this is BULL???? one complaint and thats enough? REALLY now even in ALabama, nudity is NOT porn..unless yo uare the bike!

    grahamphot 04:51:57 PM Aug 31 2009

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    This is just one of the reasons I don't like the born again Kristens!!!

    parodex 11:16:27 AM Aug 31 2009

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    Of course it's in demand now, it made some headlines and now many people want to be a part of said headlines. No surprise here. The media made this something to have, not becuase it's "good" but becuase it made the headlines is all. So what lol.

    meftus 08:48:20 AM Aug 31 2009

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    The label is very retro, taking me back to the 20's/30's flapper phase and the medicine labels that you can now only see in cheap wallpaper trying to recapture those days. Porno??? Where, I see a woman grabing onto the handlebars of a bicycle trying to get back onto a seat of something moving to fast or posilby a muse for the company.Either way I see NO pornographic material on the label.

    quantemleep 09:16:29 PM Aug 18 2009

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    I figured out why werbearden does not mind the label being banned. He lives in Alabama and if he wants to see a naked woman all he has to do is look at his wife who is his 14 year old cousin. Must be true because he is the one who thought up the idea of marrying a 14 year old cousin, because, well, that is what they do in Alabama.

    lrtun 05:25:43 AM Aug 17 2009

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    that is no more porno than an infant when changing a diaper, (and i have done a lot of that with twins and my other children.) breasts come into play with bringing children into this world also. should they be banned and we be forced to alternate food sources than the most natural? GRow-up, It Is just a silly picture of nothing wrong In any way that I can see.

    angeleyesjan1971 04:00:08 AM Aug 17 2009

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    first of all, if you read anything about the label, it was not drawn by the wine company but is acutally borred from a frenchman's drawing done around 1895. it is a classical art peice and considering that it was drawn in the victorian times they were considered less prudish than some americans today.I have a cartoon i drew out for thsi, its a spoof of the bottle, drawn out, the naked lady is now wearing a bra,witches hat and buttfloss and the cartoon states"Alabama, where the the advertising restrictions are tight and the twisted panties even tighter! for godess sake ladies, cover dem girls!i dont know how to post photos for this, but if anyone wants to see the cartoon let me know.

    werbearden 01:19:12 AM Aug 17 2009

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    I think AOL is in bed with this wine distributer. They keep this ad up to pressure the ABCB in hope to increase sales. What a waste we could be blogging on how big of an idiot Obama is. The state of Alabama doesnt give a rats butt what AOL or these people think. If they want to sell in Alabama they need some kick back$ and political friend$. $ure $aves cent$ to spend dollar$ !!!

    werbearden 01:10:30 AM Aug 17 2009

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    ericvonk- Its the law

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