Illusione and Rev. Jim Jones

[Grumpy Dano]

Originally Posted by Costa

..........The guy is out there, but to insuniate that there could be "something in his cigars" based on his beliefs, even in joking, is a little, um, a foolish (being nice here).

Smoke 'em if you like 'em, if you don't like 'em, buy something else.

Your right Dion, or whoever he is, is most likely not like that but Jim Jones WAS!!!

Because there was a *little something* in the flavored grape juice that allowed 900 people to die....300 of which died first because they were children and the parents had to hold them down and calm them while they were ............dying.

This guy is using a mass murderer as an ad for his profits. I don't think this guy is stupid enough to use the ad the way he is using it, unless he knows exactly what Jim Jones was all about.

Its a shock ad, to promote his product. Some say how dare he, and some say they were not really around so they don't realize what a monster the evil Reverend Jones was.

But some of us were around and just like witnessing 9/11.....it will never be forgotten for the true act of horror and unjustified human sacrifice it was.....

So like you said buy them if you like them...well in a way I am glad to be a noob to all this, and probably not even supposed to make my feelings known this intense.....not enough time in grade ya know????

...but I will never buy one

[sikk50]

I'm not going to pretend that I knew what this was untill I read the wiki on it, but I will say that even as a younger person who is probaly more desencitised to this sort of thing, I feel this is THE sickest most tasteless ad I've seen in the cigar industry

[madurolover]

Poor marketing IMO. What's next,
the OBL 2001,
the VT 2007,
or maybe the KKK 1965? I mean afterall it is just a gimmick right?


ps I have tried the CG and it was strangely like smoking a Macanudo. Pretty much no flavor at all unless air is a flavor.

[butterbeezy]

I'm just not down with promoting mass murderers. Would you buy groceries from a store that had this poster on the wall???

[clampdown]

Poor tastes, probably, but as Americans we are pretty hypocritical bunch. We cry foul about a company who uses Jim Jones in his ads and refuse to buy his products, but we have no problem buying goods from countries that regularly commit human rights abuses (China, Saudia Arabia, Cuba, India etc). Many oil producing nations regularly suprise the religious rights of Christians (which having been a member of CS for some time, many people associate themselves with) but we still drive to the gas stations that recieve the oil from these same nations and we never bat an eye (or I can say a large percentage of the population doesnt). If you dont like something you see on the television or hear on the radio, turn the channel. If you dont like the ads this guy uses, dont buy from him. I had no idea about these ads until I read this thread, and to be honest it doesnt change my opinion on his "cigars" but has made me think twice about buying from him again.

Now I have to go now the world is ending in four years and I have to smoke my Boli PC, produced in a nation whose leader (wherever he may be) is accused of countless crimes against his people and even allowed missles to be placed in his country and aimed at us over 40 years ago, but I cant help it, they are just so tasty.

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by clampdown

Poor tastes, probably, but as Americans we are pretty hypocritical bunch. We cry foul about a company who uses Jim Jones in his ads and refuse to buy his products, but we have no problem buying goods from countries that regularly commit human rights abuses (China, Saudia Arabia, Cuba, India etc).

You are right and as the starter of this thread I admit that I am so very guilty of such. However, with commies and others you mentioned you know what you are going to get up front. With folks like Jim Jones, you don't know till it's too late. Maybe that's what gets to petty little ole me.

[chippewastud79]

For what its worth, do I think that the maker of the cigar is a nut job? Probably. But will it stop me from buying the product? Likely not.

Who is to say that the heads of all the corporations we buy products from or the people we idolize(d) aren't nut jobs?
Donald Trump is a nut job, but I won money at his casino.
John Madden is a whacko, but I played his video game.
Pete Johnson is getting a little loopy, but I still smoke his cigars.
Tom Cruise might be certifiably insane, but I still think Top Gun is a great movie.
Just examples I guess, maybe I am nuts too.


And it was Grape Flavor-Aid, NOT Kool-Aid that was used.

[pro2625]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Dano

Your right Dion, or whoever he is, is most likely not like that but Jim Jones WAS!!!

Because there was a *little something* in the flavored grape juice that allowed 900 people to die....300 of which died first because they were children and the parents had to hold them down and calm them while they were ............dying.

This guy is using a mass murderer as an ad for his profits. I don't think this guy is stupid enough to use the ad the way he is using it, unless he knows exactly what Jim Jones was all about.

Its a shock ad, to promote his product. Some say how dare he, and some say they were not really around so they don't realize what a monster the evil Reverend Jones was.


But some of us were around and just like witnessing 9/11.....it will never be forgotten for the true act of horror and unjustified human sacrifice it was.....

So like you said buy them if you like them...well in a way I am glad to be a noob to all this, and probably not even supposed to make my feelings known this intense.....not enough time in grade ya know????

...but I will never buy one

Best post of the thread....Im going to bump your RG

[Costa]

as Americans we are pretty hypocritical bunch.

Bingo. But if the Pope graced those posters, not many would have an issue. You want evil? Look at the history of Catholicism.

Just so everyone knows, if you buy this cigar, your money is not actually funding an organization that kills/terrorizes people.

Can you say that about the other products you buy; gas in your car, t-shirt made in China, the diamond you bought your wife??? How many of your wives and girlfriends are wearing conflict diamonds?

Did you take the time to check? Probably not. Too much trouble. Easier to jump on the "moral high ground", and pound the table and say "how dare they use Jim Jones", and then quickly wiki "Jim Jones".

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by Costa

Bingo. But if the Pope graced those posters, not many would have an issue. You want evil? Look at the history of Catholicism.

Just so everyone knows, if you buy this cigar, your money is not actually funding an organization that kills/terrorizes people.

Can you say that about the other products you buy; gas in your car, t-shirt made in China, the diamond you bought your wife??? How many of your wives and girlfriends are wearing conflict diamonds?

Did you take the time to check? Probably not. Too much trouble. Easier to jump on the "moral high ground", and pound the table and say "how dare they use Jim Jones", and then quickly wiki "Jim Jones".

Some of us do not have to use "Wiki" for everything.

[monsoon]

Never seen a thread in the same light about these, which have been around a long ol' time. Would never have thought twice about it, seeing an "Al Capone" cigar ..... no big deal.

The Jim Jones reference, however, rubs me wrong.

So .... why one & not the other ? .... Maybe because I watched the Jim Jones massacre play out on the news reels when I was young. Were I 10-20 years younger than I am, I'm not so certain that I'd feel the same. Were I 30-40 years older than I am, I may not feel the same about Al Capones.

Last week, I saw someone wearing a John Wayne Gacy T-shirt. 2 weeks ago, I saw someone wearing a Charles Manson T-shirt. The Gacy shirt had me more on edge then the Manson shirt......but then, I wasn't really around to watch the news unfold about the Tate-Labianca murders .... The John Wayne Gacy shocked me realtime.

I dunno.

The bottom line for me is that I think there are *much* better cigars out there for *much* less money. Makes it easy not to buy them.

[renton20]

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

For what its worth, do I think that the maker of the cigar is a nut job? Probably. But will it stop me from buying the product? Likely not.

Who is to say that the heads of all the corporations we buy products from or the people we idolize(d) aren't nut jobs?
Donald Trump is a nut job, but I won money at his casino.
John Madden is a whacko, but I played his video game.
Pete Johnson is getting a little loopy, but I still smoke his cigars.
Tom Cruise might be certifiably insane, but I still think Top Gun is a great movie.
Just examples I guess, maybe I am nuts too.

I have to agree. I find it hard to believe that some people are taken aback about a joke that this guy made in bad taste, then turn around and support a communist country that has made a habit of black bagging its citizens. Taking a look at who has killed more, I'm willing to bet that Castro has substantially more blood on his hands.

[Major Captain Silly]

I think that using Jim Jones as a market ploy shows an incredible amount of arrogance on Dion's part. I've never seen that type of arrogance in most cigar makers. It certainly makes me think twice about smoking the brand.

MCS

[Thaplumbr]

Originally Posted by shilala

I get it, and the cigars still suck, so they don't get any of my money.
I'm far more likely to try a cigar that's aligned with boobs and football rather than evil, tragedy, and poison.
I guess I'm just weird like that. *shrug*

me too brother!

[MithShrike]

Meh, it doesn't bother me. I'll still smoke the things.

From the horse's mouth:

I understand completely the feelings certain people must have regarding Jim Jones and his following. I make no apologies or excuses for what I did. There is, however a much different meaning than just hanging the image of the Reverend in my booth. Many times, we here in the forums referred to “drinking the kool-aid” with regards to certain brands in our industry. It is somewhat confusing to me that we can refer by phrase (Drink the Kool-aid) to such a horrible incident – in jest and, without repercussion yet, when an image is presented, it evokes a much different reaction. I did not put the Reverend up there as a marketing tool. I do not subscribe to the manner in which he chose to deliver the word of God and, I certainly don’t advocate any sort of hive-mentality, mass murder. Those pictures were in the booth for a much different reason. Simply put, those images represent choice – the choices people make to be specific. The freedom of choose a cigar that speaks to you through the smoke and not a choice made for you by media, hype, scantily clad women, throngs of reviews or, the millions of dollars put into advertizing just to get you to smoke something that wouldn’t even approach your taste profile. You see, it’s all about the Mind Kontrol utilized by advertizing, media, and public figures all heaped upon us through products and, philosophical or political views. For many, it’s just easier to follow the masses so that they have something in common with another while conversing at the water cooler – that’s just human nature. It was my intention to make people see beyond the constant barrage of hype and the feeding frenzy of the “latest and greatest.” If you choose not to smoke my cigars because they just don’t do it for you or fit your taste profile, I have much respect for you. I will most certainly loose a few fans. These are people who I would not have much in common with other than the love of a cigar. I’ve made many friends this way and will strive to continue to make friends through my cigars. If you choose to not smoke my cigar because of the way I wear my hair, my sideburns, the way I dress or, certain personality traits then, there is nothing I can do because I won’t change a single thing to conform to someone else’s beliefs or, a mass-marketed, led-by-the-hand way of life.


Dion Giolito