Beer writer speaks out against sexist branding
I love our industry, I really do. I feel blessed every day to work in, what is undoubtedly, the warmest, most welcoming and fun business in the known cosmos. But I’ve got a bit of a bone to pick with you… in fact, I’ve got a whole skeleton’s worth… and it’s about the sexist imagery some of you use to promote your beers.
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This is a difficult subject. The vast majority of American craft brews avoid this type of marketing due to the simple fact that women make up a portion of their customer base.
Beer in America is becoming only more competitive by the day. Since “shock value” and humor are powerful sales motivators, it is therefore inevitable that some brands will use sex appeal as a marketing tool, just as some use pseudo-dirty words, unusual names and crazy packaging to distinguish themselves.
In the end, regardless of packaging or fancy words, it is the liquid that tells the truth.
Yes some of it may be considered sexist but it is that brewer or breweries choice on what to use in marketing , and reading the article and the comments it is noted her picture on the top of the Web page is her with cleavage showing with what would be considered suggestive pose. I’m not conservative our anything but just think you can’t chastise what you seem to represent, not to mention the article comes of whiney. Its not worth any ones time to worry about cartoon pictures on a bottle, enjoy the beer for what is in the bottle, if you are more worried about the outside stick to marketing.
Really? She’s shocked that a product that is largely purchased by 21-54 year old males would use this type of marketing? Surely she should know better. Is she going to complain about how women are portrayed in movies or TV shows?
She is way too uptight.
Could she be thinking of Sweetwater’s brews like Donkey Punch, Happy Ending, or Motor Boat. Pretty sure that brewery is run by fifth graders.
This is one area in which our wonderful little industry is, sadly, in the dark ages. While sexist marketing certainly isn’t employed by all–or even most–breweries, it is almost universally accepted as appropriate and criticism is usually boorishly dismissed without any real consideration.
It’s brave of Melissa to continually beat the drum on this issue, and I hope more male voices in the beer media/industry step up to the plate as well. Unfortunately, there will always be a few bros who end up owning breweries and slapping bikini-clad girls on the side of six pack carriers or giving their beers infantile names. But we need to start making it clear that it’s unacceptable to stoop to the insipid, offensive marketing tactics pioneered by macro-breweries.
Besides just being plainly offensive, sexist marketing goes a long way towards keeping craft beer on the margins of the mainstream food & drink industry. Hopefully, we can collectively grow-up and begin packaging our beer in a way that respects all beer fans and the great beer inside.
Cheers,
Jacob McKean
@ModernTimesBeer
What’s wrong with being sexy?
It’s an interesting point but it’s hard to take her serious when there is a picture of her showing off her cleavage in the corner.
That is a fantastic point about her cleavage – funny how she did not crop that picture a bit higher. Could it be that she knows sex sells…
Plenty of cleavage shots online of this lady. I even asked my wife about this subject, she has issues showing alot of cleavage because she says it’s “pretty”, lol, but she insists that the fact that guys love to see cleavage has never crossed her mind (what ever)….Non the less, boob’s sell, cleavage sells…it’s always been this way and will never change….do you need to use it to sell some good beer, well, no, but I see no issues with it….my wife does believe this lady is being a hypocrite.