'Viagrapops' rumours a smokescreen for Roxoff
Lock up your daughters! Rumour has it that a new breed of libido boosting drinks is poised to infiltrate the nation's pubs and bars this summer.
If the recent sensationalist national newspaper headlines are to be believed, these new passion potions, dubbed "Viagrapops", are set to unweave the nation's social fabric, produce a "generation of randy super beings" and sell more than 120million bottles in the next year.
These products, which do not contain any Viagra, Pfizer's anti-impotence drug, mix alcohol and herbal infusions that claim to have an aphrodisiac effect.
But licensees need not stock-up on contraceptive devices and buckets of cold water just yet. This wild prediction of a Viagrapops invasion is as misplaced as the absurd product that is pulling the strings.
Don't believe the hype. All this talk of a Viagrapops revolution is nothing more than a smokescreen for the launch of Roxoff (pictured), the latest in a long line of ridiculous drinks to try and link alcohol to sexual prowess. It's a relationship that is never the most harmonious and, more importantly, one that is explicitly forbidden by the Portman Group.
Despite being given the unwarranted oxygen of publicity by a national press eager to pounce on any story that knocks the drinks industry, it's highly unlikely that Roxxoff will be around this time next year in its current format.
Suggestions that it is set to spearhead a whole new sector are also wide of the mark - even if reports that Danni Minogue is to endorse the product are true.
Just as everyone had thought Gordon Brown's tax hike and stemmed the flow of rogue products, Roxxoff has slipped through the net and owner Lynch Wines has run amok in the media, shouting about its silly drink, and in doing so attracted the kind of attention the drinks industry could well do without.
In defence of Roxxoff, a spokesperson for Lynch Wines has been widely quoted as saying: "Many young people go to clubs and bars to meet people with a view to having sex. We are just helping them on their way."
At a time when the vast majority of drinks brands are working hard to be seen as responsible in an attempt to keep the threat of government intervention at bay, these foolish comments are less than helpful.
Following criticism from the trade, Roxxoff has begun to backtrack and pledged to change the bottle design but not, it seems, its marketing approach. Until it does, however, licensees and pub operators can do their bit by refusing to stock such an absurd and potentially damaging product.
