[CC] ADIOS, JUAN VALDEZ Re Advertising

[George(s) Lessard]

**********

ADIOS, JUAN VALDEZ

Juan Valdez, the poncho-clad star of four decades of coffee ads, is out of
a job, reports Juan Forero -- and so is his mule.

Colombian coffee may be the richest in the world, but a worldwide glut of
coffee beans has impoverished the formerly high-flying National Federation
of Coffee Growers of Colombia, says Forero in The New York Times.  The
group has slashed its advertising budget and cut its staff by 60 percent
in recent years.  In a final cost-cutting measure, Juan Valdez -- one of
the most enduring and successful pitchmen ever -- is being shelved.

"I still did not think that things would turn out like this," laments
Carlos Sanchez, the 66-year-old coffee grower and painter who has
portrayed Valdez since 1969.  "I thought maybe I would get too old, or I
would be replaced, or something."  The enduring image of Juan Valdez
peacefully picking beans in the early morning mists has sold mountains of
coffee over the years, says Forero; it has also helped to counter the
image of Colombia as a cocaine-infested battlefield.

"Only a new Charmin this good could have pulled me away from enjoying my
retirement."  Toilet paper fetishist Mr. Whipple returned to television in
1999 after a 14-year hiatus; maybe Senor Valdez will do the same. 
(Charmin's insistence on calling itself "bath tissue" deserves a spot in a
Euphemism Hall of Fame; try using it in the bath and see what happens.) 

Forero:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/24/international/24VALD.html

Valdez site:
http://www.juanvaldez.com/menu/advertising/juan.html

Mr. Whipple:
http://www.charmin.com/whipple.html

"bath tissue":
http://www.charmin.com/history.html



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