The power of roots.

Italians, Germans, French, and Brits care a lot about who is really what. A new "Vodka Is Russian" campaign is extolling Imperial Vodka in the hopes of overtaking other prestige vodkas that are distilled or bottled somewhere other than real mother Russia. It turns out that Stolichnaya is actually bottled in Latvia, Absolut is made in Sweden, and Grey Goose is made in France. Will consumers really care about where Vodka or anything else is really made enough to buy it at least once because it's really Russian? I wouldn't be so intrigued by this question if a customs agent at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, hadn't asked me where I was really from after looking at my passport. I said that I lived and worked in Philadelphia but that the granddaughter with whom I was traveling lived in New Jersey. The agent told me he didn't care about my granddaughter--he wanted to know where I was really from--"I'm asking you to tell me your roots, where your family comes from." I was rather anxious about a German customs agent questioning my roots, but these days, one never talks back to a customs agent. "My maternal grandparents were born in Latvia," I replied. "I thought as much. Have you been there?" said the agent. "No, I haven't," I answered. "You should go there soon," he said. "I was there last month, and most of the people there look just like you."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Hmmm. My response was a combination of relief and immediate and visceral pleasure at being recognized. A customs agent had spotted my genetic roots and decided that I wasn't a real "Doyle." What I learned from the encounter: I may go to Latvia on my next trip. Roots is a powerful marketing tool!