Drank Beverage Drink?! REALLY?!
Today as I cruised the mean streets of H-town, I came across a new drink called…”Drank”. Surprisingly, this isn’t a joke. It’s billed as a “relaxation” drink on the opposite end of the spectrum from the coffees, waters, and energy drinks everyone else is peddling. I’ve never been one to knock anyone else’s hustle, but advertising is some of the most ridiculous collection of garbage I’ve ever seen. The drink is produced by Innovative Beverage Group who incorporate such messages as “Slow Your Roll with Drank” and even a mock warning label that cautions “This beverage…may cause one to lean”. I initially felt insulted then I recalled a scene from Spike Lee’s Bamboozled where the movie spoofs such drinks with an advertisement from “Da Bomb malt liquor”. Unfortunately, such questionable concoctions targeted towards the African-American community have been around for years going as far back as Schlitz malt liquor ( a cartoon bull chasing Black folks around a picnic?!) all the way to Lil’ Jon’s Crunk Juice in more recent years. And how could we forget Nate Dogg singing the gospel about St. Ide’s.
I realized that there’s no reason for me to feel embarrassed because I don’t perpetuate or represent these stereotypes. As long as there’s someone to buy it I doubt that these “drinks” will ever go away. If anything, I’m probably doing more to promote “Drank” than detract from it. It speaks to a bigger ill for our whole society that if we put the appropriate makeup on any old pig then the appropriate consumer will buy it. Drink Crunk Juice to get you going, Diet Coke to keep you going, and Drank to calm you down. Maybe Chingy will come out with a new line of pacemakers to help regulate your heartrate after years of taking in liquid uppers and downers.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Drank is the shit! Fuck energy drinks, those are all bullshit..I drink a pepsi n feel the same as if i drink a redbull..drank actually works n tastes good..i wouldn’t say it makes me lean, but it gives me that feeling as if i just finished my first vodka cran at a bar..just a chill, kick back feeling. This shits gonna be huge if they start sellin it @ 7/11 n at hip hop shows n shit
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I’ve always questioned the long-term effects of all types of energy drinks. I’ve always viewed all of them as legal roofies (mickeys for y’all that are old school). No matter how “natural” it may claim to be anything that tricks your brain into thinking it doesn’t need more rest when it obviously does sounds like trouble if you take it often over a long period of time. Not to absolve coffee; caffeine addiction can get really nasty for some people as well. My dad to this day has hypothalamus problems that they can’t peg and I firmly believe its related to years of shift work combined with tons of liters of coffee.
I guess my big beef with Drank was the blatantly disparaging marketing of their product. “Here young Black folk! Drink this which is going to shorten your lifespan because it’s cool and it is reminiscent of the drug that killed DJ Screw!”
November 18th, 2008 at 4:07 am
It is not the only anti energy drink out there… malava with kava works but has too much sugar and is bad for the kidneys if you drink too much, drank talks too much about drugs and tastes like cough medicine, not the best tasting stuff. the biggest problems is that it has lots of sugar and melatonin which is only good before sleep cause it resets the mind clock. so it will cause insomnia if you drink it during the day. Purple stuff has their own play on words but every flavor is purple out of the can so at least they can say they got an excuse. they also know science… no sugar, L-theanine (active ingredient in green tea and an anti-anxiety amino acid and the drink tastes better than normal sodas. it has vitamins, etc. and classy marketing… it does not patronize. oh the wierd part is purple stuff has blacks working there … and Drank? well they are all white dopeheads… see peter bianchi/ founder ceo and no hip hop guru as he claims
November 18th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Shawn, thanks for all the great information. It sounds like you’ve researched everything with great depth. Educating ourselves of what we put into our bodies is important and I appreciate your comments.