Brewdog's Pink IPA

Makes sense - you have to be prepared to defy stereotype a bit to be a woman who drinks craft beer, so you're aware of the harm stereotyping does; I guess that you're more likely than average to identify as feminist

I guess you would deeply disapprove of Guinness' Every girl needs a little black drink campaign in the 1970s? They still sell merchandise based on it.

www.guinnesswebstore.com/guinness-women-apparel-and-gift/guinness-lady-clothing-collection/

Worked for me and Guiness is still the only beer/ale I would ever think of asking for in a pub although I do occasionally buy the odd bottle of porter or stout or cider if something catches my eye in a shop.

Brewdog's crazee, wacky, hipster, brocialist, punning image is very off- putting and I doubt their stout or porter is any better than a less annoying brewer.

Makes sense - you have to be prepared to defy stereotype a bit to be a woman who drinks craft beer, so you're aware of the harm stereotyping does; I guess that you're more likely than average to identify as feminist.

This is going a bit far though:

While critics have largely stated that the campaign is well-intended, several have accused the brand of being ‘tone death’.

Tone deaf surely - I hope this mistake doesn't destroy the company completely, anyway!

So, everyone gets 20% off then. Who isn't going to say "I'm female" to a cashier in a shop for 20% off beer? And of course it's illegal to question them.

This is great! Better that people see the issues with self-id in a relatively harmless way than when it really matters.

I wonder if its because they have suddenly realised that beer for girls is in breech of the asa and won't go down too well with the portman group as its clearly marketed directly at a youth market or even children.

www.portmangroup.org.uk/codes/alcohol-marketing/code-of-practice/rules/appeal-to-under-18s
Rule 3.2 (h) A drink, its packaging or promotion should not have a particular appeal to under-18s (in the case of sponsorship, those under 18 years of age should not comprise more than 25% of the participants, audience or spectators).

Irony is one thing. But not only have they managed to fuck that up, but they also in attempting it, have potentially broken the law. The buck on that one doesn't stop at the marketing department, it goes right to the top.

Want to get an idea of just how badly this has gone? Here's YouGov's findings

yougov.co.uk/news/2018/03/06/brewdogs-pink-ipa-launch-looks-misguided/
BrewDog's Pink IPA launch: misguided and a missed opportunity

YouGov data does indicate that there is something of a gender imbalance in terms of who BrewDog is appealing to. Our Profiles tool shows that of those that like the brand, 76% are male, while only 24% are female.

Our data also reveals that 43% of those that like the brand believe that having products specifically made for men or women enforces stereotypes. However, when looking at women that like BrewDog, this increases to 63%.

Added to this, those that are fond of BrewDog do appreciate a company with a social conscience – close to half of this group (49%) say that they like a company to have a moral message, against 30% that don’t mind if it doesn’t.

So, while there is certainly an opportunity for BrewDog to appeal to women, this particular campaign may have missed the target due to the messaging behind it. In this case, BrewDog had to put too much resource into explaining its actions, indicating that there was a lack of clarity and simplicity – in short, the public didn’t get it.

So women who like brewdog particularly disliked the campaign. Oops.

Great plan to increase sales. Piss off your existing customers.

Nope.

Is there a reason why they use ‘gender pay gap’, is it official in some way?

So you've got MumsNet but not Google??

Come on, put some bloody effort in - I'll spoon feed you this once.....

Gender Pay Gap

I only had to type "Gende" and it came up at the top.....

Is there a reason why they use ‘gender pay gap’, is it official in some way?

Surely it’s a sex pay gap? Can’t imagine there’s data to show the difference in earnings between 70-odd genders...

To be fair, they are genuinely putting their money where their mouths are.

I totally believe they are on board with supporting women.

I can imagine the scene in the boardroom:-

James (or Martin): "So we go for Pink IPA for girls then?"

Marketing guru: "Fuck no, you'll get slaughtered in the media"

J (or M): Excellent!

I'm not assuming anything.

I go to beer festivals & I can see the demographic with my own eyes.

When I'm in the Beer/Real Ale section of Tesco I can see the other customers buying from there & I can see the demographic with my own eyes.

You can't ignore the facts - Yes, women are interested in craft beer - nowhere near as many women as men though.

This is a good move by Brewdog as it'll only increase their customer base as more women try it & like it (as per my previous post).

Women aren't really in their target demographic

Why are you assuming that women are not interested in craft beer?

I think it's quite good actually, it's a play on their usual Blue Punk label.

I'd read the label - must be a bit sad!

They could have done nothing and had no comments at all - at least this way they've got people talking & from their point of view, there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Women aren't really in their target demographic, so their customer base is only going to go up based on this, men will still drink it - because it tastes nice!

Doesn't really bother me, to be honest, apart from,

"As part of the campaign for the next four weeks, people who "identify as female" will be able to pick up Pink IPA in any BrewDog bar for 20% less."

So, everyone gets 20% off then. Who isn't going to say "I'm female" to a cashier in a shop for 20% off beer? And of course it's illegal to question them.

I don't think people are "too thick" to get the irony, I think their problem is that the irony is only apparent if you buy the beer and read the smallprint. From the other side of the bar, it looks exactly like the lazy stereotyping that they are attempting to send up.

'Beer for girls' -- They shouldn't be trying to sell beer to children, that's actually against the law. Girls are children, and women are adult human females.

It’s quite a brave move by Brewdog as many people, including journalists and the professionally offended brigade on social media, will inevitably be too thick to get the irony.

Aw, they almost clawed it back there, if only they’d have said sex instead of gender.

Brewdog’s brand is ‘edgy’ & iconoclastic. They use the word ‘punk’ a lot

Zzzzzzzz.

DH has brought some of this tonight. I think it was a genuine attempt to highlight that pinkification does no-one any favours.

The wording on the label reads

PINK IPA
Punk's for men and Pink's for women. Right? WRONG.

Beer is for everyone and gender is not defined by colour. It's time to throw a molotov cocktail through the glass ceiling.

Pink IPA is our flagship beer, Punk IPA, delivered with a purpose on International Women's Day

For 4 weeks, we're donating 20% of proceeds - the gender pay gap - from Pink IPA and Punk IPA to causes that fight gender inequality. Visit brewdog.com/pink to find out more

Pink IPA - not 'beer for girls'. Beer for equality

(He buys Punk IPA reasonably regularly. He didn't buy it because of the pink-ness)

I really didn’t like Yorkie’s, they had a funny texture.

Reminds me of when Yorkie was "not for girls"

Good point well put @BigGreenOlives !