Bling Baby Bling...

So this week in business news the house of Roederer makers of Cristal would prefer it if rappers and any other members affiliated with the Hip Hop "Bling Bling" culture would reframe from the heavy promotion of their products. I have read several opinion columns and many threads discussing this topic. And personally I am not at all surprise by the comments this guy made. In his words "F. Rouzaud, who took over from his father as managing-director of the winery in January, says that Roederer has observed its association with rap with curiosity and serenity. But he does not seem entirely serene. Asked if an association between Cristal and the bling lifestyle could actually hurt the brand, he replies: "That's a good question, but what can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom P or Krug would be delighted to have their business."

Once again another company has expressed their unconcern and unappreciative views of the African American consumers. So how many more companies will have to be real with us and admit they don't value our dollars, before we stop committing to being so Flossy & Fly? There's nothing wrong with wanting and purchasing the finer things in life. However, the constant massive FREE promotion we do on behalf of our favorite labels consistently makes us look like superficial buffoons. I don't wear heavy logo items for the simple fact that no one has personally asked me to endorse their goods. And when it's all said and done the owners of these luxury companies are laughing at us all the way to the bank. I am sure despite this recent news and even rapper Jay-Z's rebuttal to no longer patronize their products and removed Cristal from his clubs; we will still pop a bottle or two.

I will admit I have never tasted Cristal before and according to Mr. Rouzaud I am not in the 3-5% demographic he suggests is their target audience anyway. So I don't feel like I have missed out on anything. And for all the ballas breaking the banks in the clubs on bottles of Criss, they don't want your kind anyway. I'm sure there are many more upscale brands who feel the same way, but they are smart enough to not say anything. (We wouldn't want those black people to stop spending their money on the bling.) Perhaps, now we will start to reconsider how we flaunt our new found wealth?