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A new marketing campaign is aiming to counter the anti-alcohol sentiment associated with the traditional ‘Sober October’ vibe.

For the next few weeks, you may hear and see the phrase and other signs of a new international marketing campaign, “Come Over October.”

It urges us to visit one another – “come over” if you will – and share a glass of tipple, companionship and conversation.

It seems a refreshing alternative to the all-or-nothing attitude that lingers around alcohol. Booze isn’t inherently evil, in fact, I met and fell in love with my missus over a couple of frosty Black Labels at Sidewalk Cafe in Vredehoek. Had we met over a glass of Fanta Grape, she would have seen right through my false confidence and claims about ‘being in a band’, and I would have probably gone crawling back to my ex after a few weeks (now there’s a reason to drink too much).

Sober October and Dry January seem to imply that total abstinence is the only acceptable way to live your life, despite modern health advice having come around to the fact that moderate use of alcohol is perfectly acceptable.

Come Over October does not encourage alcohol abuse, but rather encourages us to rediscover how alcohol, and especially wine, has fostered social, cultural and religious connections among people for 8,000 years. Even Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding.

Karen MacNeil, a Napa Valley wine writer and author of The Wine Bible, conceived the Come Over October campaign earlier this year along with Kimberly Noelle Charles and Gino Colangelo, two prominent wine marketers.

To emphasise the social impact of wine, she told the Washington Post that a perfect example came about during a visit to South Africa.

“I dined with five people who just two hours ago were complete strangers,” she said. “At the end of the evening we all hugged, and we are now friends. That idea sounds so simple, even mushy, but I think every wine lover has had that experience.”

“After sharing a meal, some wine, some conversation, you are friends.”

MacNeil states in a news release about the campaign that “good company, good conversation, laughter, and conviviality contribute to an enhanced lifestyle.”

“We want to encourage people to put down their devices and share in each other’s company. Historically and socially, wine has often played a role in facilitating conversation, nurturing new friendships and deepening old ones.”

It might even be better for your health to have a “No Social Media September”.

Abstinence campaigns often blur or even erase the distinction between moderate drinking and problem drinking. MacNeil is reluctant to cast Come Over October as an explicit counter to the ‘anti-alcohol wave’, though she did distinguish wine’s traditional role and the extreme opinion that all alcohol is harmful.

[source:washingtonpost]