Emergency response teams are rushing to Florida and Louisiana ahead of Hurricane Irma’s projected weekend arrival to rescue wine collections worth millions of dollars, according to a Reuters report.
The collections are being stashed out of reach of the Category 5 hurricane, moved from homes to local bunker-like storage units or shuttled to temperature-controlled warehouses as far away as New Jersey, Reuters reported.
Adam Gungle, head of Xpeditr, the company that is transporting the wines, told the wire service that many collections are owned by philanthropists aging the wine to perfection before donating to a charity auction, often to raise disaster relief funds.
“Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina and Sandy ruined tens of millions of dollars’ worth of fine wine,” Gungle told Reuters.
Crown Royal Kicks Off TV Advertising on NFL Games
New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs game gets first 30-second spot.
The National Football League, which announced in June it would end its decades-long ban on liquor advertising, broadcast a 30-second spot from Diageo’s Crown Royal during the first commercial break of the New England Patriots–Kansas City Chiefs game Thursday night.
Liquor ads still are barred from having a football theme, and must carry a “prominent social responsibility message,” according to NFL rules.
The game-time ad looked very much like a college football training session, except for the two fully clothed women and no actual football.
Everyone is drinking water, tossing water bottles and being reminded to hydrate in a gym lined with walls of Crown Royal bottles instead of pennants.
Even through ratings were down last year, according to Nielsen data, advertisers spent a record $4.2 billion for ads during regular-season games, according to the research firm Kantar Media.
NFL revenues are expected to be roughly $14 billion this year, up more than $900 million from last year, SportsBusiness Journal reported.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in 2010 that he would like revenues to reach $25 billion by 2027. The pressure to meet those expectations might be the reason why the NFL has ended its ban on liquor ads.
And for the record, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the New England Patriots 42-27.
Last Updated: May 4, 2023
