Savage New Smirnoff Ads Take Not-So-Subtle Shots at Trump

Smirnoff put together an ad campaign that mocks the accusations about the connections between Team Trump and Russia.

A Smirnoff ad pops up at a train station in New York.
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A Smirnoff ad pops up at a train station in New York.

If there's one thing that late night monologues have taught us over the years, it's that people clap like trained seals when someone makes a joke about a current event they're aware of. Perhaps with that idea in mind, the marketing company employed by Smirnoff (called 72andSunny) threw together an advertisement about team Trump and their alleged ties to Russia. Maybe you've seen something about those the last 400 times you opened up the internet.

"Made in America," the ad says. "But we'd be happy to talk about our ties to Russia under oath":

The ad(s) takes a clear swipe at President Trump, who recently indicated to reporters that he'd testify under oath about the allegations that Russian officials meddled in our most recent presidential elections. It should go without saying that not everybody believes that:

Now you might be thinking to yourself "Wait a minute, isn't Smirnoff a Russian company?" We mean, it is the last name of the one Russian comedian we've ever heard of. And the answer to that question is yes, that's the gag. Here's some history for ya, and during summer no less.

According to AdWeek, the original founders of the vodka brand initially established the business in the home of our Cold War rivals back in the 1860s. However, during the Communist Revolution of 1917, the Smirnov family fled to Turkey to narrowly avoid getting killed. They also changed the spelling of their name to the one you see in the liquor aisle. And they now distill their super-popular drink in the middle of the American heartland—Plainfield, Illinois. That's got to make some Russian blood boil.

Anyway, the ad definitely made a buzz, as evidenced by the fact that it shot all the way to the top of Reddit's front page over the weekend. And, though this is probably obvious, if they're advertising this at NY train stations then, well, it's pretty clear they did their demographic research as well.

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