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A few weeks ago, I was walking around south Austin with a friend when, in the middle of a conversation, she said, “Sex may sell, but it has nothing to do with making great vodka.” I nodded and tried to excuse her exceedingly random comment by remembering that we had both had a high stress week. A few minutes later, I looked up and realized that she hadn’t just made a random comment but, rather, was reading the billboard that was looming over our heads.

What is most surprising is that this wasn’t the billboard for a nonprofit organization trying to make a point about alcohol advertising equating alcohol with assured sexual conquest. This was a billboard for Sobieski Vodka. It was one of those rare, scrape-my-jaw-off-the-pavement kind of moments. Let me be clear, this isn’t the only alcohol billboard that doesn’t use sex to sell – there’s a very simple Patron tequila billboard a few miles north that doesn’t use sex to sell its product, but it doesn’t really make a statement either.

A bit about Sobieski’s marketing strategy is shown in the following excerpt from a press release on their website:

In summer 2007, Sobieski Vodka launched its “Truth in Vodka” campaign, declaring that consumers don’t have to pay a king’s ransom to get superb vodka. Their back-to-basics approach to marketing, which focuses on what goes in the bottle—tradition, heritage, authenticity and taste—is in marked contrast to competitors who rely on lavish packaging and gimmicky ad campaigns that have resulted in a deluge of overpriced vodkas.

Their motivation may be to encourage people to focus on the product rather than the packaging or advertising (which is frankly a noble goal in itself) but something about the way they chose to make their statement suggests to me that they are saying so much more. A note to other manufactures of alcoholic beverages – this is good advertising! It’s not necessary to use women’s naked bodies to market your product.

Just for the sake of comparison, here is a Budweiser billboard that we often use in training. I dare say the message inherent in this ad is obviously quite different than the one above. Which product would you rather buy?

The Houston Chronicle reports that just-released statistics reveal 3.4 million Americans have been victims of stalking in the past year.

The researchers defined stalking as a course of conduct, directed at a specific person on at least two separate occasions, that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. The most commonly reported types of stalking were unwanted phone calls (66 percent), unsolicited letters or e-mail (31 percent), or having rumors spread about the victim (36 percent).

This Bureau of Justice Statistics stufy was the largest-ever to look at stalking. Other key findings include:

More than one-third of the victims reported being followed or spied upon; some said they were tracked by electronic monitoring, listening devices or video cameras.

Nearly 75 percent of victims knew their stalker in some capacity — most commonly a former spouse or ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.

Women were far more likely than men to be stalking victims, and people who were divorced or separated were more vulnerable than other marital categories.

People aged 18-24 were more likely to be stalked than older people.

About 130,000 victims said they had been fired or asked to leave their job because of problems arising from the stalking. About one in eight of all employed victims lost time from work, either for fear for their safety or to pursue activities such as seeking a restraining order or testifying in court.

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is Stalking: Know it. Name it. Stop it. At the official website you can find stalking awareness information, including fact sheets, myths and realities, and the top 10 things you need to know about stalking. You can also quiz your knowledge about stalking and access promotional materials like posters, PSAs, news releases, and more.