"The Swedish way of selling alcohol is somewhat different. But it saves about 2000 lives annually."

Jeez, everyone is so confused and angry in this thread, and I understand why. Let me try to explain the premises in crappy english:

  1. This is an ad from the Swedish government (Well, Systembolaget, which is a state business with a monopoly), that explains why they sell alcohol the way they do. If you like you can either call it propaganda or a public service announcement, but remember that they need to advertise themselves just like any other store. Not the hooch they sell, but their brand. Systembolaget is consistently one of the highest ranking swedish brands among swedes, along with IKEA, Apoteket and Clas Ohlson, and it is largely because they spend money to build their brand, or, if you will, spread state propaganda about how it is kinda bad for you to drink too much alcohol, or drive while drunk.

  2. The use of an american actor as the marketing man does not imply that americans invented the maze structure, or that the americans invented marketing, or that americans are evil. The character is mainly supposed to be - sorry - comically sleazy and shallow, therefore the typical smooth slick loud american salesperson. Again, sorry about that, but the stereotype apparently works for Swedish viewers. Remember that this commercial was not really intended for international audiences.

  3. I'm not getting into a long discussion about the pros and cons about the monopoly, my opinions are not reallt that strong about it. I only know that when me and some buddies were having a gin-tasting evening and needed a rare disgusting genever from the Netherlands, the Systembolag delivered without a hitch. And, to give a nuanced picture, a friend of mine who makes tasty tasty absinthe has scared me pale with stories about tedious bureaucracy.

/r/videos Thread Parent Link - youtube.com