Dear Brewers, Brewsters, Marketing People and Art Departments,
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.
Just in case you haven’t noticed, in the last few days there’s been a bit of a furore about the issue of rape, some bloke called Julian, a mahoosively ill-informed American politician and some loud-mouthed idiot who has remarkably managed to manipulate a whole section of society into voting for him.
I’m not, for a single moment, saying that pump clips or bottle labels incite rape – that would be equally bone-headed – but you only have to look at the enormous backlash such idiotic comments have evoked to see that sexism has no place in modern society – so why do you still indulge in it?
As business people can you honestly not see that it does PRECISELY NOTHING to encourage intelligent people into drinking beer? And I’m not just speaking for women here, a brief comment on Twitter, and the resulting responses, shows that many men find it equally disturbing.
And just in case you’re wondering whether this is merely an intellectual objection, I’d like to give you an example of why branding and sexism is a real issue. At the Great British Beer Festival this year I was happily minding my own business, waiting for a mate to return to the bar, when I was approached by a man who asked me what I thought of the pump clip next to me.
It was a nonsense ‘slap & tickle’ style image and I said I thought it was stupid. Cue said ‘gentleman’ launching into a full-scale rant at me that started with: ‘Yeah, I know who you are. You’re that joyless cow who complains about this all the bloody time. It’s harmless fun, what’s your f*cking problem.’
And much as I enjoy a spirited debate from time to time (for those of you who know me, feel free to snigger), I walked away. Why? Well, as a wise man once said to me: “Don’t argue with idiots, they’ve had way more practice.”
But I was targeted, in a very aggressive manner, by someone who wanted to use my stance on sexist marketing as a big stick to beat me with for being a woman in the beer industry – is this something you want to encourage or that you want your brand associated with?
And if that one anecdote, and sadly I have a number of them, doesn’t do it for you, perhaps I could draw your attention to the fact that research by Molson Coors shows that 42% of women are put off beer by the macho marketing…
From a professional standpoint, I also get more than a bit ticked off when I seek to engage with you about this issue quietly and politely in the background (I’m looking at YOU Marstons) I feel ignoring my efforts is pretty rude to be honest, so I’m going to say it publicly instead!
Some of your range of seasonal pump clips for the Wychwood and Jennings brands are 
depressing at best and, at worst, simply puerile. Are you honestly proud that your products have joined the beer equivalent of the rogue’s gallery over at Pumpclip Parade? (BTW, kudos to Jeff Pickthall for running this site.)
If smaller companies like Hart Brewing, which has previously been a particularly bad offender, has recognised that it needs to change its ways, how come one of the largest regional brewers in the country seems incapable of doing so?
And can we just take a moment to look at the Slater’s range and the frankly pathetic out-dated, out-moded and tragic pump clip for the equally tragically-named Top Totty that hit the headlines earlier in the year after being banned from the Strangers Bar in the House of Commons?
All else aside, from a purely aesthetic point of view, how can a successful and genuinely good brewery not see how appalling cheap, nasty and tacky it looks against the rest of the brands?
This is sadly just a small selection of the awful dross out there which is damaging our industry’s image and making life difficult for women to get into beer, let alone those of us who are already in what I’ve said before, and will say again, is a truly wonderful business.
You may think I’m making a fuss about nothing but I’m a firm believer that any aspect of society that fosters intolerance is created of thousands of elements, none of which are too small to challenge, and this element should, most certainly, be called time on.
It really is shameful and simply unacceptable in this day in age.
Thank you for speaking out against it!
Cheers,
Thank you
How stupid are they? Im wondering why they want to alienate a good chunk of current & future drinkers. I can see how some would think ANY publicity for their brewery might be an advantage (Slaters & the House of Commons) – but surely that bit of advertising doesnt make up for the damage done on the whole.
Couldn’t agree more. This kind of puerile marketing affects the entire industry – we want to attract more women to real ale, not put them off.
Indeed, if not just from a purely business point of view…
Also the thjing is it that it is always the WOMAN that is pictured wht breasts on a pump clip, never a beer that is symbolised by a NUDE MAN with some kind of giant PEINIS! Can you imagine all the Real Ale drinkers with their pints if they had to pull on a cock to get them!!
I’m killing myself laughing right now, the thought of that idiot at GBBF being faced with ordering that brings joy to my heart!
I’d totally drink a pint from a tap that was a giant dildo. Though I’d probably be unable to stop some of it from coming back out my nose, ’cause I’d be giggling like a little kid every time the tap caught my eye
You should head to Chicago, and visit Big Dick Brewing Co with their unusual tap handles…
That’s just not pretty is it? Any more than the Toronto bar that has tap handles coming out of the boobs of a female mannequin!
Would he be happy ordering a beer called “A touch of the dark stuff” with a pump clip with a picture of a pair of hairy black balls!! haha
LMFAO
Blanche de Bruxelles?
I’m not sure I have an issue with ‘sex sells’ in general, it’s the manner in which it’s delivered. As much as it’s neither helpful or necessary in the Top Totty clip, it’s not the concept of the bikini that offends as much as abhorrent and inherent servitude of the graphic in question. Other clips push the boundaries to the ‘hilarity’ of the sex offender…
[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2011/aug/01/worst-beer-pumpclips[/url]
My personal opinion is that the ‘I’m fat, I smell, I fart and I don’t care’ culture of some parts of this industry (see the T-shirt stand at beer festivals) is depressing, outmoded and regressive. Equally offensive is the pink, sweet, low ABV beers for the ‘little ladies’ with pink labels: “Pint of ‘Pat on the Head’, luv?”
(For reasons of transparency, I should point out we’ve been guilty in the past and have learned out lesson!)
Which is brilliant John, if we didn’t make mistakes as a race we’d never evolve; you’ve evolved, others haven’t, just trying my level best to bring them all up to speed!
I do agree with most of what you say Melissa. I do find some of the clips, tasteless and sexist. Although, one or two seem less offensive.
However, your comment in relation to 42% of women being put off real ale, by this macho market, came as quite a shock . Hopefully, it will come as a shock to many more too.
Finally, I admire and respect you for walking away from such a cretinous specimen, who insulted you at that recent festival. It’s this type of brainless reaction, that gives the decent,respectful, real ale drinker, a tarnished image.
Indeed it does, as does this kind of branding
How do we get the message across?
There is a wider issue of social reform and eduction, at all economic levels, underlying this problem. Many of the breweries behind these atrocities tell you to “get a sense of humour” and I’ve heard the same from pub landlords & customers. So long as the sexual objectification of women remains so widely acceptable that is can be just brushed aside as “humour” I don’t see a lot of hope for pump clips. I could point out an unacceptable (to me) pump clip at one of my locals – and the landlord might point out the 5 metre wide billboard across the street advertising a sex shop with an image of a woman in a skimpy maid’s outfit. (This is real – on a major intersection in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.)
Fixing this in the brewing industry would be a step forward… but I’m at a loss as to work out how it could be done. Perhaps a Portman-group-like approach (Portman group themselves?) to “enforce” a broader sense of social responsibility? “Name and shame” doesn’t seem to work, just look at the Slater’s case covered above – controversy! And increased sales…
It’s a tough one but saying why you won’t buy them will hopefully hit sales and get the feedback to the breweries – I’m being optimistic here I grant you!
Well – I’ll certainly be making sure I don’t buy any such suspect beer for our beer festivals. My tiny contribution! (Though I don’t know in advance what some of the pump clips are… I’ll generally avoid dodgy suggestive names anyway.)
Big round of applause that man!
And theres you with you cleavage adorning yhe top of this blog. Not very attractive and completely not needed.
For some people, it seems, the difference between cartoon women and real ones is purely academic.
Dear Claire, thank you for noticing my cleavage, did you also notice that I have included my head and shoulders directly above as is usual in a profile pic? Melissa x
Three cheers Melissa for a great post, and kudos for dealing with “Claire Mydia” (seriously, what a lame pseudonym) so politely.
…are there, but the photograph is cropped just low enough to see your breasts. That’s the point.
So cartoon women presenting their cleavage is sexist and unacceptable, but real women presenting the same is perfectly acceptable because it does objectify them? I am confused. Especially since it seems cutting of the cleavage in the profile photo would only have taken very little off the overall size, having the cleavage there, presented, doesn’t actually add anything to the picture. Funny that.
It’s a picture that was taken for my book that I cropped and modified to top the website, no one has ever mentioned anything to me before.
And there is a huge difference between that picture of me and a pump clip for a beer in a pub. If anyone doesn’t like the picture, you simply don’t come to my website. However, sexist beer marketing also affects how, particularly, female bar staff are treated and I have seen it make both women and men in the pub very uncomfortable if they have to come to the bar and order from a tacky pump clip or a beer with a ridiculous name for another member of their party.
I’ve not tucked the beer glass in my cleavage, I haven’t called my website ‘My Two Jugs Worth’ and I’ve not got them hoisted up front and centre! Trust me, if there was something dodgy about that picture my mum would have kicked my arse about it a long time ago!
There is also a massive difference between a part of a woman’s body being visible and sexist marketing and if you honestly can’t see that then this is my last attempt at intelligent debate with you.
What an odd line of argument from some of the posters above. Surely the difference between a photographic likeness of someone used to illustrate their blog and a sexually exagerated caricature used in conjunction with an innuendo-charged name to market a completely unrelated product is self-evident.
lets not get sidetracked and make this a personal attack on someone who is addressing a valid issue.
the issue is about inappropriate, ineffective advertising.
maybe if the men behind this were asked if they would like their daughters to treated inappropriately it might put the “personal” touch in the correct place.
most successfull companies are happy to make the positive changes required to keep their customers.
as competition continues to grow in this industry it will be the savvy ones that survive and the outdate modes will simply die out. times a ticking and very few newer brewaries are using this type of advertising…… unless, of course, its 6 foot four and 195lbs six pack on the label!
jolly good luck to you all.
xoxo
Mimi
As users of the American pin-up girl in our branding, I am glad to see we were not singled out in the name of bad taste. Our beers and the way we serve them at Kash Tap Rooms are in an American style as is our artwork. We belive we do this in a tasteful way celebrating the artwork that defines a period in American history. We are not supporters of sexist depictions of women but without a celebration of the female form some of the most beautiful painting and statues in the world would never exist.
I’ve got to be honest Alex and say that whilst you can make all the intellectual and artistic points you like, you’ve still named two beers Spank and Nut Cracker – it’s a bit of a tough sell for me, no matter how much art you thrown into the argument I’m afraid!
Yeah, sorry, I know you want to appear like you’re the good guys and above all this, but your pump clip for “Spank” is just as bad and offensive to woman as any of the others mentioned in this blog post. Art isn’t an excuse for sexism and last time I checked, euphemisms like nut cracker show no respect for the female form as you claim your artwork does.
Your brewery’s name, ‘Blueball’, is derogatory American slang referring to the act of teasing a male to the point of ejaculation but then stopping. Your slogan ‘Letting the good stuff loose’ plays on this infantile nonsense. Your logo is basically a naked woman sitting on a ‘Blueball’ of ejaculate. And then you have the aforementioned useless beer names and pumpclips.
Frankly, your ‘branding’ is by far the worst example of sexist attitudes in British brewing that I can think of. At least with nonsense like ‘Top Totty’ you can just say it’s some out-of-touch old timers, what’s your excuse?
Big ball of ejaculation ! I suppose we all have the right to interpret art the way we wish, however yours is the most explicit interpitation of ours I have read. Remember these are the thought that are going on in your head when you look at our branding not ours. The award winning Spank is by far our best selling product. Try a Spank some time you might enjoy it.
So you’re saying that your brewery name and slogan isn’t a nudge-nudge wink-wink how’s-your-father in-joke about male orgasm? Why on earth would you base your entire branding on that? Or is the slang meaning of ‘Blueball’ just a complete coincidence that you weren’t aware of?
And if Spank’s branding isn’t sexist, what about Blackberry Tart, Gold Digger or any number of other beers in your range (I particularly like the tasting notes to ‘White Betty’ by the way):
http://www.yourround.co.uk/Brewer/Runcorn/Blueball-Brewery/WA7-4UA.aspx
Frankly, there’s so much good beer about in the UK these days, I really am not going to worry about missing out on some IPA with a stupid name like Spank.
Well said!
Personally I prefer pump clips to tell me what a beer is like, these type are pretty much ignored!
cheers Jim
Simply no need or room for it…and there never should have been in the first place. Ban the Sexist Branding Abominations!
*applauds*
I suppose this wouldn’t be a good time to bring up the laughs we got out of the name ‘Two Cocks Brewery’, right? It’s funny as it’s not intended to mean anything other than male chickens; whereas, if the brewery or a beer was named ‘Two Cocks’ meaning, well, penises; it really would not be funny in the slightest and I may even be offended.
Even when I first started drinking real ale back when I can neither confirm nor deny I was of a legal age for consumption, I’d steer clear from the sexist named beers, whereas my mates would all be like “Oooh look at that hilarious label with the lady on it and the really hilarious name”. I was just never impressed. Maybe this is just the way I’ve been brought up.
That being said, I probably should grow up and stop laughing at things that aren’t meant to be funny.
Great post, Melissa.
Nate
Bit torn on this as I remember a laugh filled evening drinking beers called Game Bird and Hairy Helmet (can’t remember the brewer) where everyone had a laugh. Could that be because the sexism was balanced in this case?
That’s the thing about opinions and this kind of issue, it’s never as clean cut as we’d like it to be!
What a brilliant read this was!!
I cannot stress how much I agree with this. What an utter, utter, utter, utter (hint: even The Young Ones would agree!) bag of crap these pumpclips are. As an honest man I will AUTOMATICALLY stay away from these beers! Why, would you ask??
Very simple answer: IF THIS is the ONLY way YOU brewers THINK a beer has to be advertised to stand out from the crowd IN THIS manner, WHO in the WHOLE WORLD will think: Yeah, that would go down well. NOBODY!!!!
Thing is, this only confirms how much institutionalised forms of sexism and racism there are in English society. I recently had an argument with a friend about racist remarks used during PL football matches. He told me “players should just shrug it off and shake hands afterwards.” You WHAT????????
I will always make a point of it any which way it is. The whole point of a good beer or ale (sorry for forgetting it’s about that as well) is SHARING it with whoever is around.
I love your last point there, nail on the head!
It’s not just that it’s sexist, it’s that it’s so old fashioned. Proper Ale has had an image problem- that it’s very male and dour and middle aged. This kind of cheeky seaside postcard stuff is part of that old image and it needs to be allowed to die.
Or be put down
All political points aside, these type of pump clips simply make beers look so outdated. The breweries present themselves as wholly unimaginative so I presume the beer will follow suit. Mentioned in the post is the Pumpclip Parade and a browse around will not only make you cringe but will also remind you that virtually every misogynistic pun has already been made.
I think this image still has a stranglehold on the industry, and although everything is moving in the right direction, for every 50 well branded beers it only takes 1 of these to make those still sitting on the fence think “this whole thing really isn’t for me, Foster’s please”.
Personally I can’t wait for the old real ale clichés to finally die off and make room for the future of real ale and craft beer. The change needs to be led from both ends. Drinkers need to vote with their wallet and the associations and governing bodies need to do their bit too. One of the most shocking entries in the Pumpclip Parade is this little effort from Cask Marque which shows that the problem goes right to the top.
I drink in Brighton’s branch of ‘Craft Beer Co’ and it is always packed to the brim with every type of person EXCEPT the bearded, sandal wearing real ale archetype. When you consider a lot of these people are paying £6 for half a pint I wonder why these breweries would take a chance of alienating themselves from such a market.
Anyway, great post Melissa. Breweries – cut that shit out!
I complained about that Cask Marque ad when I saw it in London Drinker. The only response I got from Paul Nunny of Cask Marque was this: ” It obviously did what it should do and get noticed [sic]. We rarely use this advert now as we are keen to promote our smartphone app.” With that level of response I didn’t think it worth pursuing the matter, although I did consider suggesting some other worthwhile things they could do to get attention. I seem to recall that London Drinker, on the other hand, apologised and said they wouldn’t be carrying it again.
I mentioned it to Paul personally, he looked a bit confused by all the fuss but I got the impression they won’t be using it again
I think it’s worth pointing out that the Cask Marque ad had in fact been used for a year in various publications before Des complained when it appeared in London Drinker.
At the time I asked my daughter, a feminist PhD politics student and Real Cider aficionado whether she thought it was sexist and she said “Yes, of course, but more than that it’s just not a very good advertisement is it? Sexism today is far more subtle than that.”
Her view was that it was merely a bad advertisement, sexist, yes, but hardly a threat. She believed that sexism nowadays is much more subtle and that this was just a very old fashioned, some might say ignorant, attempt at humour that had backfired. A bit like watching an old “Carry On” film I suppose. I am old enough to have laughed at those at the time but today I wince…
I think much of the discussion on the above falls into the same category. Once the marketeers responsible for promoting these brands realise that they are actually damaging them rather than enhancing them with these silly names it will eventually go away.
So keep up the good work Melissa and hopefully it won’t be that long before people will be researching this sort of thing as part of their dissertation on how things used to be.
Cheers John
It seems that a lot of brewers think it’s too expensive or just don’t care about about their brand or beer names.
I’ve recently started doing a lot of branding wound web work
For breweries and it’s hard to get the message across to the more traditional brewers, the new guys seem to realise they need to stand out without being crass or upsetting people so are open to ideas and suggestions.
I’d love to know how to persuade some
Breweries to use our services and employ a professional designer! But it seems that some just don’t believe you when you say how
Much of a difference it will make, even nick from the apprentice on his recent show the farm fixer struggled to persuade a brewery that branding is key
It makes you wonder sometimes doesn’t it?!
Great article, but I want to disagree.. I want to keep the awful sexist pump clips. Mainly because the people who put out awful sexist pump clips are probably awful at making beer, and it is a wonderful way to find out they are bad people who make shit beer easily.
Ok, I’ve changed my mind.. burn the lot
In my experience, the beers that have sexist and poorly thought out joke names and pump clips usually taste awful. As a result, I’ve ended up using this as a system to work out what beers to avoid.
When on a bar full of pump clips though, I usually find they rarely stand out, whereas brewers with a strong brand identity like Otley, Marble and Kernel do.
It’s not a bad system but sadly they are sometimes good beers, which are being let down at the final hurdle
Wonderful article, thank you so much. I have gotten into this argument a bunch of times and I’m always shut down with a, “Oh shut up, it’s not a big deal, the beer is still good, etc.” Well of course the beer is good, I want to drink it, but I don’t need to see a cartoon girl’s ass in a thong staring at me when I pour.
Exactly, people rarely think about the impact on people on both sides of the bar, it’s mind boggling really!
im kind of divided on this one. im definately against censorship, so talk of a ban would upset me. so i guess it comes down to supply and demand. now to be honest its rare im in a pub and have a choice of more than 2 or 3 beers i dont know (&and rarer still im not planning on a half of each regardless
) But most of the pump clips above (and other examples in my head) just look cheap and tacky which makes me assume the beer is similar. it certainly sends a message on target market, a clip like top totty im instantly assuming is a bit of a bland dull slightly dated bitter! if thats the image brewers want…
I agree let the market decide. Poor sales will be their most effective killer and much responsibility here rests with buyers, licencees, and beer festival organisers, as much as with consumers.
I don’t know if the market will decide “on it’s own”. As I said in my earlier comment here, there still is too much institutionalised sexism and racism around.
By making a concerted effort to shout about the unruly and rubbish marketing going round, we can get the change done that’s needed.
The first bloke who brings back home a couple of bottles of these beers will be thrown out of the house. And rightly so! I’ll bet you a case of good beer no bloke’s ever tried it. They’re too scared, the little whimps.
If everyone here who runs into such a womble and dares him to do just the above, then you’ll see they start crawling back.
Also by making a fuss about it down the pub is a good way to make the pubowners think twice about having them.
That way we can make the difference in starting to “work” the market in getting rid of these sexist labelled beers.
Thank you for your points but, just to be clear, I am not advocating censorship, or added red tape for the industry, I’m merely bringing it to people’s attention so that they vote with their wallets.
Great article Melissa, so true and time to remove outdated attitudes both too and within beer drinking community.
Thanks Graeme
Totally agree Melissa and I too generally avoid beers branded in this way like the plague.
What to do, keep spreading the word, we bloggers, writers, drinkers etc etc have a massive collective reach if we pull together. Suggestions
A “Kick sexism out of beer ” campaign as per racism in football.
Getting someone with skills in marketing (yes I’m looking your way Andy Mogg) to come with a badge for blogs, beer shop, brewery websites.
Maybe a mass blogging day, or you could host a Session month perhaps using sexism as the subject matter in some way?
Be great if more people chose to blog about it and that we held products up with good branding next to those with rubbish branding perhaps that would make the point more strongly?
Aside from the offence they cause with their rubbish sexist cartoons, terrible pumpclips do serve some purpose- they tell me which beers not to drink. Any beer which feels the need to use ‘slap and ticke’ style marketing is obviously undrinkable rubbish and as such I won’t waste my time and money sampling it. Sh*t marketing, denotes sh*t beer.
Sadly not always, but that’s not the real shame, the genuine issue is the barrier it puts up between beer and right-minded people; that’s what upsets me the most.
Liking those ideas Phil!
Its a problem that’s going to take some beating and as has been said, the best way to vote is with our wallets. Until there are financial repercussions for those responsible they’re not going to change anything. What gets me is why they feel the need to come up with such stuff in the first place, perhaps they’re devoid of any comic ability whatsoever and all they’re able to think about is a joke overheard in a greasy spoon…
I’m not from the UK so I’m probably not the best person to comment on this. However, I do agree that beer (or most industries for that matter) should consider women’s feelings when they choose to market their products. At the same time I haven’t really seen any craft breweries market their product in a sexist fashion. I’m not familiar with any of the brands you mention in this article so I’m not certain whether they are more macro produced brands or craft beer. Here in the U.S. it seems to me that the macro produced beer is pretty sexist, while the craft brewing scene more than welcomes males and females to drink their product. Like I said, I’m not from the UK, I’m not familiar with these brands, but maybe that is part of the issue? From my experience, macro produced beer seems to be pretty sexist and I have not seen this from the craft side of things.
All micro or regional sadly, I can’t be bothered to change the big boys, they are what they are and that’s it.
On your shores I’m afraid you have quite a few offenders, you only have to look at stuff like Clown Shoes as one example, it’s not as rampant I’ll grant you, but it’s still there sadly!
I’d like to hear an explanation of what is so sexist about Clown Shoes? Poking fun at what many of us (men & women) consider to be a trashy fad (Tramp Stamp) or of a physical trait that is not gender-specific (Muffin Top)?
I’m not particularly familiar with the brewery, but along with several juvenile ones, I find some of the beer names to be hilarious social commentary.
I notice you didn’t comment on Brown Angel…
Absolutely agree, but a couple of slightly off topic points:
1. Top totty tastes like roast chicken crisps (i drank it, even as I rolled my eyes at the name (in the Wenlock I think, several years ago))
2. Butcombe. Surely it’s a joke name?
I’m pretty confident that it’s called Butcombe because it’s the name of the place where the brewery originated, it’s not there any more and they don’t make any beers with bad puns on the name – thank god!
Still though, almost everyone I know (regardless of gender or age) does a Finbarr Saunders-esque snort pretty much every time they order a Butcombe…
Shut up, do the dishes and get me a beer!
I’m taking that as a joke because I’d like to think it was one, it’s also hilarious because I never do the dishes! Sort of a point of contention in the house sometimes!
I agree with the tone of this article purely for the reason that women are the up and coming brewing target population in many areas. No need to offend and turn away women and feminists (not always women) from delicious beer and the joy of brewing.
Am I right!?
well I’m nodding!
Utterly agree on this matter. My nearest local is a Marston’s pub,so now off for lunch time beer and a quiet word with landlord/lady as to why l refuse to drink beers with sexist beerclips. Also ask them to pass this on to pubco.
Bravo! *stands and applauds*
I’m not a marketing expert. I’m not a commercial craft brewer. I am a home brewer. I’m also a lassez faire capitalist.
I favour market forces dictating who stays and who goes in the market.
I cannot believe the overwhelming call to force compliance on private entities. Autocratic rule applied anywhere is never a good thing, ever. Of all the people on the planet, I would have thought the British would have a deeper appreciation of this than most. What’s next?
The decision on how to market a product should be the exclusive decision of the producer, and not decision of a group of people who don’t like the marketing. By all means voice opposition, draw others to your cause, and above all vote with your wallet. If enough people share your view, the producer will have 2 choices ; change or go out of business.
However, any free man should never think to bring about acquiescence to an ideology through force.
All that being said, I enjoyed the article. Well written and thought provoking.
I’m not looking for, or calling for, additional red tape for the industry – it’s bad enough as it is! I’m asking brewers to recognise the damage they are doing to the image of ale and their own bottom line – it’s clear that I’m not alone in this and if the tiny proportion of the beer drinking public that listens to what I have to say has been so vociferous on the matter then it’s likely that there are many others who feel the same.
Thank you for your nice words at the end there
I’ve had another think about this and I wonder, Melissa; as a female beer drinker is it a similar kind of insult when large companies like Molson-Coors release a beer specifically designed for women?
I mean, the way I see it is that they’re saying “You’re a woman so we’re going to make the generalisation that you don’t like beer. Here have this…”
Last time I checked, I wasn’t a woman so I don’t know. It was just an afterthought.
Nate
Hi Nate, I think I made my thoughts on Animee pretty clearly hear (boom tish!)
http://letmetellyouaboutbeer.co.uk/?p=1071
So, so, true. But when I point out to the members of our homebrew group that our forum would be more attractive to women if the guys left out their puerile and sexist commentary (not to mention the guy with the bouncing boobs as an avatar), the one regular female contributor says “it doesn’t bother me”, so the guys all assume that proves it’s OK. Rather than wondering why we only have one regular female contributor…
It’s funny that Molson Coors own research says “sexism is bad”, but it has no effect on their advertising. They just say “yeah, but we’re not marketing to women: they don’t drink beer”, without considering exactly why they don’t drink beer.
I think your first paragraph says it all!
Well said! And my gosh do I love the phrase I just learned from you: “Don’t argue with idiots, they’ve had way more practice.” I think I’ll be able to use that at least once a week!
Cheers Melissa!
It’s a good one isn’t it?
Melissa – Well done.
Covering the bases and stating it very factually, removing emotion which is where progress will come from. Indeed, I fielded a ‘defense’ of using the word “Babe” in a women’s beer affinity group this am (named by the woman who was justifying it) that also pushes the wheels backwards, not forward. Women can’t want equality and respect and also call themselves something akin to the labeling your talking about. It’s two faced, not clever, and short sighted.
What would happen if all the women who patronize pubs, stores selling beer and restaurants serving beer simply stopped buying ANY beer in protest? Who would notice then? How quickly do you think the industry (which I am also fond of and sometimes struggle with for this very reason) would react appropriately to the world biggest market share withholding their dollars?
We study the qualitative side of women + beer and have found that the overwhelming majority of women do NOT not want inaccurate titles and labels assigned to them. We’re not talking about neutering your brand either – the whole idea though of a business is to figure out who your market will be, how best to reach them and them market to them accordingly. Yes, it’s flabbergasting to see so many beer brands – of all sizes and locations be so thoughtless. Don’t buy their beer. Tell the seller of it why you’re not, and find a label you can support. There are thousands of beers available so surely you can find one that is respectful to women. Remember also: when we set girls (females under 12) up for this kind of mindset, it’s cutting their opportunity short and completely shameful. You can be clever, intelligent and have an edge of appropriate adult humor if you like. Yet the most powerful brands around are not based on sex at all: Coke, McDonalds, and the like.
Open and sometimes uncomfortable discourse is the only way we’ll make progress. Speak up loudly and constantly if you don’t like to be reduced to your body parts and supposed lack on intelligence. Will the day come when beer is marketed toward men using baby blue, tight speedos and oily chest? I hope not – that’s not what anyone wants anyway. If the beer is high quality it should be able to stand on it’s own. Sex doesn’t sell – it reduces us all back to a level that’s insulting and ridiculous. Use sex to sell condoms. Me – I’d rather loose my voice speaking up than turn the other cheek.
Thanks Ginger
I disagree. What is sexist about a hot girl on a label or a sex-related name for a beer? I actually find, as someone else said, that the breweries which rely on these types of marketing gimmicks often have sub-standard beer. So, I don’t tend to buy them often but I disagree with your notion that 42% of women have an issue with the pumpclips. You said they were put off by marketing. The research says only 1 in 5 women have a problem with the packaging. I mean come on 1/3 of women said they hate buying beer because it’s heavy to carry. Should we try to inject it with helium? BTW I live in the USA and I’ve gotten every girlfriend of mine (since I started drinking micros) to drink micros also and they were all happy about it and I didn’t hear one complaint about sexism. For that matter, I just bought my wife and sister in law posters of the following image, AT HER REQUEST. https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQITvG-xs0Py6_6lqn8eFP0BSJOYKoCCiR4Fx02Yh09RnfPID9w
It’s not to say it doesn’t happen in the States, it’s just seems to me to be more prevalent here. As for what your wife and SIL want, that’s their choice, it wouldn’t be mine.
As for injecting beer with helium, given that we’re running out of it and it’s needed for medical procedures I’d suggest that would be profligate at best
I actually don’t think this argument is ultimately about sexism. Much as I despair of what it says about our society that a certain group of people still find this sort of puerile stuff amusing and attractive in a non-ironic way, I don’t actually believe that rebranding Top Totty would make much of a contribution to the achievement of genuine equality for women. The real problem with this sort of marketing is that it reflects badly on the industry as a whole, and puts off a significant section of the potential audience from discovering the joys and pleasures of quality beer — not only women, but the increasing number of men that find this sort of imagery prehistoric and embarassing. It indicates a depressing lack of ambition and imagination on the part of some sections of the brewing industry, and a lack of appreciation of the true potential of their product.
And yes, as our laissez faire contributor above suggested, you could leave it to the market to decide — but the problem with that view is that in reality no individual brewer acts in isolation, and the decisions they take also contribute to the overall perception of beer. I agree with Melissa that yet more external regulation is the way forward — the last thing I want is for the government to decide what is and is not acceptable. But I reserve my right to keep nagging, shouting and complaining about bad marketing so long as certain sections of our industry fail to appreciate that both the world, and the market, have moved on.
Yes! This! Assorted nails hit directly on heads right here!
Argh! Missed out a vital word there! External regulation is NOT the way forward.
That’s all right Des, we knew what you meant, less red tape in life in general would be super!
I think society has moved on from this style of advertising. I dare say we all remember fondly the semi-innocence of the saucy seaside postcard of our youth, but like black and white televisions, twintub washing machines and mobile phones the size of a house-brick, the world has moved on and we have all grown up a little. Beer is something that sells well enough on it’s own merit without adorning it with pointless names that bear no relevance. I’m fond of a drop of Timothy Taylor’s Landlords Bitter. I doubt I would be tempted to buy more of it if the name was changed to something sexy.
There are so many brands of beer around, new microbreweries springing up on a daily basis and so many pubs closing down that the beer market is being squeezed into a tighter and tighter corner. Added to that the pressures of cheap supermarket booze and an unhelpful government taxation policy, let us not be too brutal with some of these beleaguered brewers trying to find a way to move their product. Gentle guidance is better than ridicule and vitriol. Merely make the point that they are making a mistake by pursuing the advertising methods that they employ. In fact, why not help and suggest more suitable brand names?
Dave, I’m not being sarcastic here, but I’m not sure whether you’re agreeing or not…
Dave, the beer market is not being squeezed into a tighter corner, in fact the micro market is exploding in sales. You are the true essence of a beer snob. Pubs close because they don’t know how to run a business. It has nothing to do with the brand names. At the end of the day sexy names don’t hurt or help, the quality of service, beer and personal attention does. I hardly think that growing up means we don’t appreciate things that are sexy, otherwise you wouldn’t have used the word sexy because it would have no meaning to you. Those who denounce the labels which breweries put on beer, put your money where you mouth is and create your own beer, otherwise just shut up and don’t buy the beers which don’t agree with your sensitive palate. Suggesting “suitable brand names” intimates that the beers are not selling well. First of all that’s not true, e.g. Raging Bitch was one of my best sellers, so was Buxom Blonde, which is not to say that they were great beers but they sold. At the end of the day as a brewery I wouldn’t care who I offended if it sold. It’s a business after all.
I can see both sides. Understandably, a lot of women will find the marketing tasteless and insulting. But there is a flip side. Young ‘Jack The Lad’ decides he fancies something different from the usual bland fizzy mouthwash. The ‘Top Totty’ pump clip may be the only one to draw him in, he tries it, thinks ‘this proper beer lark isn’t as bad as I thought’ and we get a new, real ale drinker, for life.
This isn’t necessarily my view, just playing Devils advocate.
And that’s fine, I always like to hear from someone placing the other side of the argument, but I don’t think that odd consumer makes up for the legions who are turned off by such out-moded, sexist branding.
If you do not like the way the beer is advertised or its label don’t buy it and don’t drink it. If you are not trying to equate these labels as leading to rape why mention it. Saying, “I’m not, for a single moment, saying that pump clips or bottle labels incite rape..” is just a tactic you used so you could bring rape into the issue which is complete and utter BS. You don’t like the labels – fine. Others do. The only power you have over label choice is in your wallet. Don’t buy it if you do not like it but if a sexy label pisses you off to such an extent that you’re outraged maybe you need to learn to focus on more important topics. You’ll see a lot worse on Page 3.
Thank you for your comment, but you neglected to mention that I had used the example of the recent furore in the media about issues regarding the way women are portrayed and the issue of rape as a way of pointing out that this sort of outmoded thinking is a poor reflection on what is a fantastic industry.
Personally, I don’t think the Pg3 girl has any place in modern society either, I’m ashamed that we still have such things, but your selective quote takes the entire article out of context.
And when you say ‘the only power you have over label choice is in your wallet’ – well that’s clearly not true. I’m a journalist who is a specialist in their field and people do listen to my opinion, whether they agree with it or not.
As for focusing on more important topics, if you’d like to look at what I say about the sum total of small parts being important to attitudes as a whole, you’ll see that I think it’s all important, and have also written about the media’s attitude more widely such as in this article here http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/blogs/the-word-on-women/news-media-need-to-take-a-long-hard-look-at-portrayal-of-women/
However, I’m also self-aware enough to realise I only have a certain amount of influence, and the beer world is where I can do the most good by challenging this sort of attitude; it’s fine if you think it’s all BS, that’s your opinion and you’re very entitled to it, this is mine.
They can do whatever they want, you don’t have to buy the beer. People are allowed to be offended, that is the way life works. Don’t buy it and they wont sell it.
That’s kind of where I’m trying to get this to, it’s easy to overlook what can seem like something a bit ‘fnar’ without thinking about the impact it has on the staff, your mates or an overall opinion/attitude towards the brewing industry.
Sadly, it sells.
“If anyone doesn’t like the picture, you simply don’t come to my website.”
Exactly Melissa! If we’re offended by sexist branding on beers, we simply don’t buy them. Or we could continue busting on the creators of Blueball, because they misrepresent the beer industry as a whole, just like how cheesy T&A flicks have tarnished the entire film industry so that now nobody watches movies, even if they’re Oscar-worthy.
Thank you, despite the name you’ve chosen to post under!!
Ms. Cole you are correct. How strange to apply sexist nonsense to a human invention tended to by women. Read Alan Eames book on the history of beer.
It seems we go two steps forward, to take three steps back!!!
Great article followed by an even greater debate. I hope those who disagree at least give the subject more consideration than an eye roll and a tut.
I’m a woman and there’s been too many times when I’ve felt horribly uncomfortable when standing at the bar betwixt a boob-filled pump clip and a leering drinker.
Applause for raising this point! I too believe this sort of marketing is ‘beyond outdated’. Women do make up a large percentage of the market including myself as a young intelligent women who has recently started to discover ales. Not only would my female friends and I avoid these ales because of the way they are marketed, my partner would too because most men of today (he’s 27 for reference) want to be considered as intelligent individuals and not some oaf who is humoured by simple minded idiocy. Times have and continue to change…. companies who use this sort of marketing should get with the times or they will be left behind as the market evolves.