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A wine company 'dedicated to conservative values' paired Ronald Reagan's farewell address with clips of protests to promote its products in a new ad

Aug 7, 2021, 03:23 IST
Insider
Ronald Reagan and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were both featured in the wine ad. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
  • Conservative wine company We The People released an ad for its products this week.
  • The commercial features Ronald Reagan's voice, clips of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and video footage of Black Lives Matter protests.
  • While some Twitter users were shocked it was a wine ad, others rallied behind it.
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In a commercial that features the voice of former president Ronald Reagan, a self-dubbed conservative wine company uses clips of recent protests, statements from politicians and TV hosts, and video footage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to promote its 2019 Cabernet and Chardonnay.

Some people on Twitter, who saw the commercial retweeted, were shocked to find out that it was an ad for wine. Others, who saw the video shared by the brand, rallied behind its messaging.

"Our nation and our freedom is under attack from fellow Americans," the company wrote in a tweet promoting its commercial. "THEY claim America was 'never great.' THEY demand we fall in line and stay silent. WE the People beg to differ… and we're here to celebrate, defend, and fight for our freedom with 'We the People Wines.'"

The company calls itself "an American brand dedicated to Conservative values" on its website, and stands for "American exceptionalism, free markets, free people, free speech, and limited government."

The commercial layers pieces of Reagan's farewell address on top of music punctuated by pronounced piano notes.

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"I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result in an erosion of the American spirit," Reagan's voice says as clips flash across the screen featuring someone holding an American flag and getting punched in the face, an aerial shot of "Black Lives Matter" painted in yellow on a street, and sports players kneeling during the national anthem.

Between sentences from Reagan, the commercial also shows clips of democratic governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and an outspoken democratic supporter of both Black Lives Matter and the movement to defund the police, Sunny Hostin, who is a cohost on ABC's "The View."

"We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom," the audio continues over shots of Jackie Robinson hitting a baseball. "And freedom is special and rare."

Freedom of speech is illustrated by a clip of people applauding Dr. King, while freedom of religion is illustrated by a woman singing in church.

Reagan can then be heard saying, "We the people are free," before the ad flashes to images of the Olympics, a rocket launch, an army salute, and the Statue of Liberty, among others. Then it concludes with images of the wine.

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The commercial shows an image of "Black Lives Matter" painted on a street like the one shown here. ANGELA WEISS/Contributor/Getty Images

According to the company's website, "a portion of the profits from every sale goes directly to supporting causes that reflect the values our community stands for." The company's Twitter bio indicates that some profits go directly to conservative political candidates.

We The People Wine did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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