Solving the puzzle of the lying liars who brought us Armand de Brignac champagne

by guest contributor Clyde Smith, originally published at ProHipHop

It looks like most of the important parts of the puzzle of Armand de Brignac, the previously unknown yet ancient champagne that magically appeared in Jay-Z’s comeback video, have been solved. Business Week’s Burt Helm follows up, drops by the offices and eventually clarifies that Armand de Brignac is both real and a fake.

You can read his post for clarification but the name is an old one for a champagne that hasn’t existed for quite some time and the champagne packaged in the revived Armand de Brignac brand is a new blend with very little history.

Key Point Alert:
I repeat, Armand de Brignac is a new blend with no history or positive reviews by serious taste testers or anything other than an infrastructure, an appearance in a Jay-Z video, a nice bottle and a bunch of frothy media coverage [with a couple of dissidents here and there who will soon be forgotten].

So the statements from the press release that “the brand is making its North American debut this year, after enjoying success as a premium, high-end brand in France” is an outright lie. It’s a new champagne wrapped in an old brand borrowing the design of a bottle for a cheaper product.

However, Helm drops the ball when he states that this approach isn’t that different from the sudden appearance of Grey Goose Vodka that was touted as the “World’s Best Tasting Vodka.”
I’d put best tasting in the hype category as one of those lies that we’ve come to accept. I’d put trying to pass off a resurrected brand and claiming it is as an ongoing successful brand with an old history as a lie that we should refuse to accept, though it’s one that fits the world of hip hop business practices like a glove.

At this point, it’s quite obvious what’s going on here. Though Helm is still at the “skeptical” stage regarding the various disclaimers about who did what and why, it’s clear that the whole thing is a setup, regardless of whether or not this charade was inspired by the Cristal boycott.

Key Point Alert:
The very idea that Jay-Z Inc. would put a product like that in a starring role in Jay-Z’s comeback video without prior discussion or deal doing is patently absurd.

But if you buy that one, give me call, I’ve got a barely used ’69 VW bug for sale. Really, only 37k on the original engine and those are all highway miles. You’ve lucked out on this one!

More details will emerge though I’ll bet they keep the backroom realities hidden. In hip hop business, your lies are usually only revealed when you are caught up in legal proceedings because, generally speaking, hip hop business is considered entertainment news. Besides all pr is good pr and telling the truth is awfully close to snitching, don’t you think?

Much thanks for the tip to Dariah H.