Non-alcoholic drink for kids in liquor stores

From CBC.CA

Quote:

A bubbly, non-alcoholic children's drink for sale in Alberta liquor stores has upset Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Robby Bubble comes in a champagne-style bottle with colourful cartoon characters on the label and the words "Party, Party!"

On the drink's website, children are shown dancing with a cartoon band and drinking the sparkling fruit juice out of champagne flutes. The product's slogan is "Celebrate like the grown-ups."

Tracy Franklin, the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Calgary, told CBC.ca that Robby Bubble sends the wrong message to children and doesn't belong in stores, especially liquor stores.

"It's calling out to kids, but the whole thing is geared as a champagne bottle, as an alcohol product," she said.

"Do we want to give them something, although it's non-alcoholic, and have them partying like an adult?"

She compares Robby Bubble to candy cigarettes or toy guns, products she says aren't appropriate for children.

Just sparkling juice, says distributor
The German product is distributed in Canada by Authentic Wine and Spirits Merchants.

President Darryl Weinbren says Robby Bubble contains no alcohol and is nothing more than a sparkling fruit juice. Parents who want their children to share in a family celebration can serve up the drink, he said.

"I can understand Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and certainly I respect their objectives and what they are after. There wasn't any intention from our point of view to encourage kids to drink alcohol. It was just a matter of trying to find something that would meet a family celebration with something for their kids."

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, which oversees liquor sales in Alberta, should not allow the product in liquor stores, said Franklin.

Marilyn Carlyle-Helms, a spokeswoman with the commission, said liquor stores can sell non-alcoholic products like Robby Bubble as long as there are no health concerns and no signs in the store that appeal to kids.

"Our focus is the proper sale and service of alcoholic products," she said.

Weinbren said a few hundred bottles were ordered by one chain of liquor stores in Alberta, and the drink isn't being sold anywhere else. Robby Bubble hasn't sold as well as the liquor store chain had hoped and he doesn't expect the company to place another order.

Looks like this stuff is for real, but it doesn't look like it will last long.
Your thoughts?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Is this a new development or something? I remember buying soda in a champagne bottle like... ten years ago. Only once though, because seriously, what a waste of money, it cost thrice as much as a plastic bottle of the same volume.

Their slogan is, of course, powerfully retarded.

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Ah, to me it seems like another pathetic way to try and advertise alcohol just looking towards the long term of it.(which i agree with Chibi, doubt it will last long)

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

1) Sparkling cider isn't a new product. It's easy to find it around here, it's just that it's not marketed to kids specifically. Which brings me to my second point.

2) This is being sold in liquor stores only right now. How many kids are perusing the aisles of liquor stores, anyway? It's no wonder this product isn't selling well.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

What's the point of selling it in a liquor store if kid's can get in the store? It's not even alcoholic, so why put it in a liquor store? Massive fail of German product.

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What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Why sell something aimed towards children in a store that sells products illegal for children? Doesn't make sense.

FELIPE NO

I also don't like the message it sends but am glad it won't get much sales anyways since only parents would be allowed to run freely in liquor stores. Also, unless the parents think their children are so deprived of being able to celebrate they way they see mommy and daddy doing all the time and want them to experience the same feeling, I think this product will reach the decline stage in less than a year.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Martinelli's has been selling their apple cider in champagne-style bottles for a very long time and I don't see people complaining about that. It's just something so the kids can feel like they have a special drink. Lighten the hell up.



Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by some goon

"It's calling out to kids, but the whole thing is geared as a champagne bottle, as an alcohol product,"

It's a BOTTLE. I could understand if they were using condoms to store this fruit juice with a slogan like "BURSTING WITH FUN" but no! No it's a bottle. How dare they sell liquid in bottles! Kids should only drink water from muddy ditches!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Why even market this shit to kids? Seriously. Like we need to give more young adults a push down the road to being an alcoholic and saying it's all OK. It's nice to know that the stuff is only sold in liquor stores, because that means their parents have to buy it for them.

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Originally Posted by Render

Why even market this shit to kids? Seriously. Like we need to give more young adults a push down the road to being an alcoholic and saying it's all OK. It's nice to know that the stuff is only sold in liquor stores, because that means their parents have to buy it for them.

And I'm pretty sure that selling plastic guns to kids will cause them all to grow up to be mass murderers or something to that extent right?

I guess this also means that my life in the horrible, horrible dealings of video games started when I drank that Nintendo Pop they sold about oh, 12 years back...cause ultimately that influenced everything.

On a serious note, I do agree with the stupidity of selling a non-alcoholic beverage in a liquor store, but also it goes to show you how uptight we've become as a society.

Back in the day, kids use to go around neighbor hoods playing cops and robbers, cowboys and indians so on and so forth and now they still do...cept they get shot by real cops. Whiskey used to be a cure for toothaches and such, but now fuck me runnin, that turns EVERYBODY into an alcoholic.

Let the kids have their damn fun...it's not like they have much to look foward to being a kid anymore.

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This won't last long, these cunts won't let it. I know the majority have lost loved ones to drunk drivers but they need to fucking stick to that point and leave this shit alone.

What I would GIVE for a cigarette that contains bubble gum again.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I've saw this shit the last time I was in a liqour store buying some beer. At first it did prompt a "WTF" look. However I can understand the appeal. Lots of people have kids. Lots of people that throw parties have kids. Kids have a tendancy to want to act like adults. So you pick up what is essentially a soda and tell the kids that it's "Champagne just for kids". He shuts up, gets to have some fun and think he's a grown up. No one is hurt.

I remember doing the same thing as a kid. Drinking ginger ale out of a champagne glass with my cousins on New Years ever when we were 8. Hell, we just wanted to pretend to be adults.

Originally Posted by Render

Why even market this shit to kids? Seriously. Like we need to give more young adults a push down the road to being an alcoholic and saying it's all OK. It's nice to know that the stuff is only sold in liquor stores, because that means their parents have to buy it for them.

It's not marketed towards children. Children can't fucking buy it. It's marketed for parents, who have the ability to determine if it is appropriate or not, to purchase a treat for children.

MADD went from Mother's Against Drunk Driving to Mother's Against Fucking Everything Because Maybe Making Sure No One Else Has a Good Time Will Ease the Pain.

Fucking MAFEBMMSNOEHGTWEP.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I think its kind of a waste of time for the company and the stores to even sell. I mean they already sell cool non-alcoholic bottles at the local grocery store that anyone can pick up. Why go into the liquor store and get that?

FELIPE NO

I don't know why we're the only people that think it's a great idea acid.

If I was a parent and was having a celebration of some sort at my house I think it would be cool to give my kid something special to drink for the occasion. I know when I was little my parents would always give me sparkling cider.

And, seriously, who the hell becomes an alcoholic off of champagne.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Martinelli's is a gateway drink, RacinReaver.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

If I was a parent and was having a celebration of some sort at my house I think it would be cool to give my kid something special to drink for the occasion. I know when I was little my parents would always give me sparkling cider.

I don't understand this mentality.

Why not just give them a small amount of champagne? I'm not talking about a dozen flutes worth - just maybe a quarter of a flute.

You teach them to respect alcohol, and that it's not a fucking demon.

I dunno. I was always raised with a little wine or champagne on a special occasion. I'm not a raging alcoholic. In fact, I STILL only drink (in small amounts) on special occasions.

Treating alcohol like the fucking DEVIL will not help ANYONE.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

I don't understand this mentality.

Why not just give them a small amount of champagne? I'm not talking about a dozen flutes worth - just maybe a quarter of a flute.

I agree that you shouldn't demonize alcohol, but there are several practical applications for having something like sparkling cider on hand for the kids.

1) Many kids don't like the taste of alcohol. It's one of those things you grow into (at least it was for me), and if they know they don't like it, then it would be nice to have something on hand that they will drink.

2) Kids can't grasp the concept of moderation. Once they've drunk a little champagne, they'll want more to drink, and you can't keep pouring the liquor.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by acid

MADD went from Mother's Against Drunk Driving to Mother's Against Fucking Everything Because Maybe Making Sure No One Else Has a Good Time Will Ease the Pain.

Fucking MAFEBMMSNOEHGTWEP.

Quoted for truth.

Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hWnA2dgE-M

Doesn't seem like MADD has a place arguing about this stuff, since I've never once seen a drunk toddler flying down the highway.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I remember when my parents would give me that sparkling cider stuff at celebrations. Pretty much the greatest shit ever. I don't see what these moms have against it. OMG IM DRINKING JUICE IN A COOL BOTTLE IMA GONNA GO KEEL U WITH MY CAR!!!!11!

Also, Candy Cigarettes are the bomb--they don't sell 'em where I live, but they do have sticks of sugar candy shaped pretty close to it, and it's pretty fun to act like a dumbass and walk around with them in your mouth.

Fake guns ftw!

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Midna

Martinelli's has been selling their apple cider in champagne-style bottles for a very long time and I don't see people complaining about that. It's just something so the kids can feel like they have a special drink. Lighten the hell up.

Actually, it's the only type of bottle that can withstand the pressure that it's content is under. Well, that according to the one episode I saw of it's bottling on Unwrapped, the Food Network show...

Though still, it doesn't matter one bit, it's just a bottle. That said, the other makes no sense whatsoever however.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?