Comments on: Don’t Support the Objectification of Women: Drink Craft Beer http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484 Drinking through the world, one beer at a time. Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:59:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: poisoned_dwarf http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-7219 poisoned_dwarf Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:11:43 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-7219 What about this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=J1jPE9BwwUA What about this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=J1jPE9BwwUA

]]> By: Kyle http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-7177 Kyle Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:33:41 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-7177 The difference in ads stems from the products' intentions. Light lagers have nothing to talk about. It's like asking a paper napkin company to stand out from the competition. I mean, macro beer is just a manufactured item built to spec for an intended purpose. The liquids are no different. Hence, their advertising usually has nothing to do with the product and far more to do with brand strengthening. I liken it to an overzealous teenage girl who just HAS to be followed by 1000 people on Facebook. She needs to build her personal brand to appeal to the largest audience. Craft beer celebrates diversity and complexity, which isn't the path of mass production, it's the path of the artisan. And, given how awesome it is that tons of craft beers are produced by hand, and are a genuine reflection of the people at the helm, craft can stand simply on the merits of the liquid. In a sense, it's something real. So, craft beer ads are usually about the product itself and don't need kneejerk ads to increase sales. Also, the craft market is steadily growing, so brewers aren't really fighting violently in the ad world for for a slice of a largely spoken-for pie, as macro lagers are. I don't look at raunchy ads so much as an issue of feminism but of stagnance and complacency. Life is change, and many of these macro products haven't changed in a very long time. These brands are dying giants in a very real sense. They don't have anything new to advertise besides a toilet bowl bottleneck and color changing cans. But, because their only motivating factor is profitability, they still are required to go out and fight with whatever bullshit tools they can think up to grow their share of market. So their ads play off of the genetic makeup of humans. People know what macro beers are. They're everywhere. So they advertise with "primal instinct" triggers like humor and sex to get us to identify with the brands on an emotional level. It's like McDonald's featuring salt, sugar, and fat - the key primal instinct ingredients. Everything they produce is based on featuring saltiness, sweetness, or fattiness, or some combination of them, because humans are subconsciously drawn to seek out those things. Beer advertising is no different, they show people having good times, relaxing, appealing women, jokes, and a bevy of other tools in order to lead consumers to identify with the "reasons" people buy their brand. Take Miller's new set of commercials, whose formula features one oddball being ostracized from social settings for drinking the "wrong" beer. Each oddball also features one thing that is socially unacceptable, from the wrong barhopping outfit to the wrong swimwear to, for some inexplicable reason, having his mom sitting a table away as he is out with friends. These messages play off of people's instinct to belong to a larger group. To me, I don't buy in to the emotional attachment to a company's message. But a ton of people do. That's why ad firms keep generating these types of campaigns. So yes, degrading women is bad, but to be honest, most marketing schemes used to advertise macro beers are bad. The difference in ads stems from the products’ intentions.

Light lagers have nothing to talk about. It’s like asking a paper napkin company to stand out from the competition. I mean, macro beer is just a manufactured item built to spec for an intended purpose. The liquids are no different. Hence, their advertising usually has nothing to do with the product and far more to do with brand strengthening. I liken it to an overzealous teenage girl who just HAS to be followed by 1000 people on Facebook. She needs to build her personal brand to appeal to the largest audience.

Craft beer celebrates diversity and complexity, which isn’t the path of mass production, it’s the path of the artisan. And, given how awesome it is that tons of craft beers are produced by hand, and are a genuine reflection of the people at the helm, craft can stand simply on the merits of the liquid. In a sense, it’s something real. So, craft beer ads are usually about the product itself and don’t need kneejerk ads to increase sales. Also, the craft market is steadily growing, so brewers aren’t really fighting violently in the ad world for for a slice of a largely spoken-for pie, as macro lagers are.

I don’t look at raunchy ads so much as an issue of feminism but of stagnance and complacency. Life is change, and many of these macro products haven’t changed in a very long time. These brands are dying giants in a very real sense. They don’t have anything new to advertise besides a toilet bowl bottleneck and color changing cans. But, because their only motivating factor is profitability, they still are required to go out and fight with whatever bullshit tools they can think up to grow their share of market. So their ads play off of the genetic makeup of humans.

People know what macro beers are. They’re everywhere. So they advertise with “primal instinct” triggers like humor and sex to get us to identify with the brands on an emotional level. It’s like McDonald’s featuring salt, sugar, and fat – the key primal instinct ingredients. Everything they produce is based on featuring saltiness, sweetness, or fattiness, or some combination of them, because humans are subconsciously drawn to seek out those things. Beer advertising is no different, they show people having good times, relaxing, appealing women, jokes, and a bevy of other tools in order to lead consumers to identify with the “reasons” people buy their brand.

Take Miller’s new set of commercials, whose formula features one oddball being ostracized from social settings for drinking the “wrong” beer. Each oddball also features one thing that is socially unacceptable, from the wrong barhopping outfit to the wrong swimwear to, for some inexplicable reason, having his mom sitting a table away as he is out with friends. These messages play off of people’s instinct to belong to a larger group. To me, I don’t buy in to the emotional attachment to a company’s message. But a ton of people do. That’s why ad firms keep generating these types of campaigns.

So yes, degrading women is bad, but to be honest, most marketing schemes used to advertise macro beers are bad.

]]> By: Carla Companion » Bringing women into a craft beer blog’s audience – as people http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-7175 Carla Companion » Bringing women into a craft beer blog’s audience – as people Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:54:20 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-7175 [...] Here’s how I look at it. It isn’t about making the content more accessible but I would say, for lack of a better turn of phrase, make your site “less repelling.” Inevitably, women will come to your site if they’re looking for craft beer content – there is certainly a growing interest, and it is ultimately the content of your site that will bring people to it in the first place. The trick is, how do you keep from turning new visitors off from your content once they get there? If a woman came to a site looking for beer reviews, and then see something that looks like Maxim’s advertisments and has lots of big-breasted women pouring beer (instead of drinking beer) everywher then they will know that the site is “not for them.” It is usually as obvious as that. That doesn’t mean your site has to be adorned with puppies and wallpaper, but maybe it just has to be given a “respect makeover” to demonstrate your support of your entire audience. [See Ashley's great post on rejecting the objectification of women.] [...] [...] Here’s how I look at it. It isn’t about making the content more accessible but I would say, for lack of a better turn of phrase, make your site “less repelling.” Inevitably, women will come to your site if they’re looking for craft beer content – there is certainly a growing interest, and it is ultimately the content of your site that will bring people to it in the first place. The trick is, how do you keep from turning new visitors off from your content once they get there? If a woman came to a site looking for beer reviews, and then see something that looks like Maxim’s advertisments and has lots of big-breasted women pouring beer (instead of drinking beer) everywher then they will know that the site is “not for them.” It is usually as obvious as that. That doesn’t mean your site has to be adorned with puppies and wallpaper, but maybe it just has to be given a “respect makeover” to demonstrate your support of your entire audience. [See Ashley's great post on rejecting the objectification of women.] [...]

]]> By: How to get women to drink craft beer « The Brew Babes Beer Blog http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-7056 How to get women to drink craft beer « The Brew Babes Beer Blog Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:53:26 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-7056 [...] marketing and beer. First, there was the excellent article from Drink with the Wench about how women’s bodies have sold beer for ages. Then, there was an article about how breweries can market to women. So we have been [...] [...] marketing and beer. First, there was the excellent article from Drink with the Wench about how women’s bodies have sold beer for ages. Then, there was an article about how breweries can market to women. So we have been [...]

]]> By: Kristen http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-7009 Kristen Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:51:20 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-7009 I agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, it's a two way street. There's no real end in sight as there will always be women who are okay with being objectified, and as sex sells for everything else, companies aren't going to just stop using the marketing technique. I agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, it’s a two way street. There’s no real end in sight as there will always be women who are okay with being objectified, and as sex sells for everything else, companies aren’t going to just stop using the marketing technique.

]]> By: Beer Kristine http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-6972 Beer Kristine Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:10:00 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-6972 @ The Wench...This is something I feel very strongly about. This type of marketing is offensive and alienating to women. It would seem to be common sense that if you have a product to sell that you'd take care not to offend 50% of the population. The female craft beer drinker isn't a myth and females are gaining ground in this industry at a rapid rate. If these breweries were at all aware of the larger marketing world they'd realize some of the most prominent craft beer bloggers are in fact, female. The way you market something is as important, if not more so, than the quality of the product. A wise business person would be on the internet searching what people are saying about their product. A wise business person would realize that there are a large portion of craft beer drinkers (and the really passionate ones at that) reading your blog and others and looking to you (collectively speaking) for their next craft beer purchase. A wise business person would realize that they aren't just alienating the female craft beer drinker but all women...they need to be looking at females making food a drink purchases for their partner, their family, as well as themselves. Women are very often the gatekeepers to the household...if they don't like your product, you aren't getting in the door no matter how much Significant Others may beg. Just a quick search on Google reveals "Women dominate consumer goods spending. They are responsible for 80% of all purchases and 82% of all consumer goods spending" (GlobalBusinessInsights.com). I could honestly go on about this for days (well years because I feel that strongly). We as a gender need to vote with our dollars BUT we also need to speak up and start telling these companies what we think. @ The Wench…This is something I feel very strongly about. This type of marketing is offensive and alienating to women. It would seem to be common sense that if you have a product to sell that you’d take care not to offend 50% of the population. The female craft beer drinker isn’t a myth and females are gaining ground in this industry at a rapid rate. If these breweries were at all aware of the larger marketing world they’d realize some of the most prominent craft beer bloggers are in fact, female. The way you market something is as important, if not more so, than the quality of the product. A wise business person would be on the internet searching what people are saying about their product. A wise business person would realize that there are a large portion of craft beer drinkers (and the really passionate ones at that) reading your blog and others and looking to you (collectively speaking) for their next craft beer purchase. A wise business person would realize that they aren’t just alienating the female craft beer drinker but all women…they need to be looking at females making food a drink purchases for their partner, their family, as well as themselves. Women are very often the gatekeepers to the household…if they don’t like your product, you aren’t getting in the door no matter how much Significant Others may beg. Just a quick search on Google reveals “Women dominate consumer goods spending. They are
responsible for 80% of all purchases and 82% of all consumer
goods spending” (GlobalBusinessInsights.com). I could honestly go on about this for days (well years because I feel that strongly). We as a gender need to vote with our dollars BUT we also need to speak up and start telling these companies what we think.

]]> By: Beer Kristine http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-6970 Beer Kristine Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:46:50 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-6970 @ Jessica Brown...I am absolutely disgusted by that campaign...especially the ad with the Mexico City reporter. The incident involving her was infuriating to me and for a craft beer company to take things one step further by insinuating she was/is a hooker is just too much...looking at that ad transported me to that scene in Scanners (when that dude's head explodes) and I felt my head would explode. I sent them a message because I believe they should know what is being said about them...perhaps they have a new marketing team or company and that's why there's been a change. They need to hear from the female clientele and so they heard from me. In a nutshell I told them their marketing campaign was not only offensive to their female market but it was also alienating. That who ever told them it was a good idea to market their product to the male lowest common denominator needed to be fired. There are so many female craft beer drinkers out there and even more women who make most, if not all, of the food a drink purchases in households. All in all, their marketing shift was a very poor idea and that I, nor my female friends, who are also craft beer drinkers, will be drinking their beer. @ Jessica Brown…I am absolutely disgusted by that campaign…especially the ad with the Mexico City reporter. The incident involving her was infuriating to me and for a craft beer company to take things one step further by insinuating she was/is a hooker is just too much…looking at that ad transported me to that scene in Scanners (when that dude’s head explodes) and I felt my head would explode. I sent them a message because I believe they should know what is being said about them…perhaps they have a new marketing team or company and that’s why there’s been a change. They need to hear from the female clientele and so they heard from me. In a nutshell I told them their marketing campaign was not only offensive to their female market but it was also alienating. That who ever told them it was a good idea to market their product to the male lowest common denominator needed to be fired. There are so many female craft beer drinkers out there and even more women who make most, if not all, of the food a drink purchases in households. All in all, their marketing shift was a very poor idea and that I, nor my female friends, who are also craft beer drinkers, will be drinking their beer.

]]> By: Mulher gostosa, com um copo de cerveja na mão? Abra o olho… | http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-6967 Mulher gostosa, com um copo de cerveja na mão? Abra o olho… | Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:35:41 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-6967 [...] coisas, que pouco tem a ver com a vontade de beber cerveja, não é mesmo? (inspirado no post do Drink With The Wench) // Posted in Artigos | Tags: cerveja, mulher, publicidade, [...] [...] coisas, que pouco tem a ver com a vontade de beber cerveja, não é mesmo? (inspirado no post do Drink With The Wench) // Posted in Artigos | Tags: cerveja, mulher, publicidade, [...]

]]> By: Dan http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-6959 Dan Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:45:05 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-6959 over 600 examples of sex in advertising - beer and otherwise: www.flickr.com/sex-sells over 600 examples of sex in advertising – beer and otherwise:
http://www.flickr.com/sex-sells

]]> By: Bill http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484&cpage=1#comment-6843 Bill Fri, 15 Oct 2010 23:43:07 +0000 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=5484#comment-6843 @Wenchie: "Ugh. MEN." Sexism works both ways, you know. @Wenchie: “Ugh. MEN.”

Sexism works both ways, you know.

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