Habs’ Laraque Ad For Energy Drink Containing Alcohol Draws Fire

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Canadiens RW Georges Laraque apologized yesterday after appearing in an ad that “ran afoul of women’s groups and league rules on alcohol,” according to Laflamme & Levesque of the CP. The ad for Octane 7.0, an energy drink containing alcohol, shows Laraque “playing street hockey with several scantily clad women.” An NHL spokesperson noted that the league’s CBA “states no player can sponsor or endorse an alcoholic beverage.” The league did not comment on whether Laraque would be punished for his participation in the campaign. The ad is “only running on the Internet and although it features no dialogue whatsoever … it concludes with a printed slogan" in both English and French. Laraque said that he had “no idea what the ad’s script was when he arrived for the TV shoot and that he only agreed to do it because it offered a lucrative payday for charity.” Laraque: “If I’d known (the ad’s content) I wouldn’t have done it -- that’s for sure.” 33mag.com, Quebec, the ad agency responsible for the spot, said that it was done “tongue in cheek, as a parody of sexist beer ads” (CP, 10/13). The GLOBE & MAIL’s Sean Gordon notes sports leagues “generally discourage their players from open endorsements of alcohol -- celebrity booze endorsements are expressly forbidden in many jurisdictions, although not in Quebec -- and the NHL, which nevertheless accepts beer company sponsorships, is no different” (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/14).

CURIOUS TIMING: YAHOO SPORTS’ Greg Wyshynski noted Blue Spike Beverages President Nicolas Gagnon-Oosterwaal, whose company makes Octane 7.0, is “baffled by the controversy, the heat on Laraque and the sudden attention” the ad is receiving two weeks after it was released. Gagnon-Oosterwaal: “The media has covered the video for the last two weeks. Why the controversy has popped up now, I don’t know. It must be a slow news day in Montreal.” Gagnon-Oosterwaal added that Blue Spike “hasn’t been deluged with e-mail or phone complaints about the commercial.” He noted that the product “targets legal drinkers over the age of 18, and that no Canadiens or NHL logos were used in the filming” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/13).

A DIFFERENT SIDE OF THE ENFORCER: In Montreal, Cheryl Cornacchia in a front-page piece wrote Laraque “has become the newest face of Canada’s animal welfare movement" since declaring himself a vegan and joining PETA. Requests for his appearance at community events “have increased five-fold.” Laraque: “At the end of the day when I retire, I don’t want to be remembered by how many people I’ve beaten up” (Montreal GAZETTE, 10/13).