Marketing and social media are two of my favorite topics outside of craft beer. In fact, social media is where I first started to engage with the craft beer community and what inspired me to start this site. But much like anything in life, it can be misused and I often find inappropriate use of women in beer marketing.

This is a controversial topic that I already discussed when the Brewers Association decided to alter how they address offensive beer names. And this remains an important topic so I want to dive further into the use of women in beer marketing.

And it seemed like the week of International Women’s Day was a great time to talk about it.

Please sound off in the comments below or on social media and let me know where you stand but keep it friendly and constructive as I know this can be a sensitive topic.

The “You’re Too Sensitive” Argument

News stories often tell of people mistreating other people. But this isn’t a new issue, humans have been treating each other terrible since the dawn of time. But recently there has been an increase in men being exposed for sexual harassment.

This unfortunate reality has opened up conversations about how our culture’s relaxed view of sexually offensive humor can often lead towards men feeling like they can mistreat women.

For me, jokes are jokes and harassment is harassment. If your joke is about another human being mistreated then you probably don’t understand humor. So yes, sexually explicit and harmful jokes are harassment.

But some may argue that our culture is too easily offended and say “you’re too sensitive” or “it’s just a joke”. And in some ways, I agree that we can be easily offended but that argument often appears to be a weak defense for bad behavior.

If I get “offended” when a restaurant doesn’t offer the type of food I want then I am being too sensitive. But we are not being too sensitive when we strive for humans to be treated like humans.

So when it comes to using women in beer marketing, we must be very cautious and understand what is offensive.

What I Consider Inappropriate

Everyone has a different set of rules, ideas or beliefs when it comes to what is inappropriate or offensive. But with regards to women in beer marketing, here are my thoughts.

Sexual Innuendos

Some breweries have used sexually charged names for their beers. I believe that women and men both find this to be of poor judgement.

And some may argue that it’s all in fun but I feel it creates a sexually hostile culture. I don’t want a beer named after a sex act – it doesn’t make any sense and it is distasteful.

Degrading

How many Blonde Ales beer names need to reference women before we agree that the joke is old and often offensive?

And that’s just a mild example as there are quite a few beers names that reference female undergarments and the ability to remove them. I wish I could word it better but I’m not willing to reference the actual names.

Most of these are targeted at women and obviously out of line. This behavior excludes women from a culture that we often claim to be inclusive.

Visual Depictions

I love beer marketing and branding. I am easily influenced on which beer to buy based on the label design.

But one way to ensure I won’t buy a beer is to include an explicit piece of artwork on it. I don’t want women or men objectified on beer labels.

And it’s worth noting that there are thousands of breweries that find a way to do quality, engaging marketing without the use of scandalous visuals.

Sexy Vs Sexist Marketing Tactics

Is there a difference between sexy and sexist marketing?

There may or may not be but either way, I don’t think the use of sex is necessary in marketing beer. Make great beer and find a real marketing angle to sell it.

If you are using “sex to sell” then you aren’t working hard enough to be creative and it’s time to re-think your marketing strategy.

While our culture tells us to be more tolerant, it’s obvious that we are all more sensitive (aware) than ever. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Maybe we are all sensitive because we’ve been forced to consume sex driven marketing for decades.

In an industry that is dominated by male employees and customers, many have thought that using women in beer marketing was smart and effective. But I disagree as it limits the target audience and often is viewed as lazy if not also offensive.

In many industries, the female body is objectified as a means of gaining attention from male customers. And for some in the craft beer industry, they have adopted this mentality. It’s unfortunate how often the human body is leveraged for the sake of selling a product.

And this is not just a female issue – even though most of it is directed towards one gender – as we also see men objectified in product marketing. We’ve all heard references to a male’s status being determined by what he has or doesn’t have below the waist. And it is common for women to objectify men based on their appearance.

People Taking A Stand

Can we agree that the best way to prevent this type of behavior is to stop rewarding it?

More than ever, people are being empowered to support companies that have ethics that align with their own. And in the craft beer industry, there are plenty of breweries that make great beer and have clean branding.

Buy their beer and let those that want to be controversial be left out in the cold to wonder why their brewery failed.

Amidst all of the debate of what is right and what is wrong, there are many that are taking a stand.

Individuals are calling out companies and breweries that decide to be crude in their use of women in beer marketing. Social media is often a great platform for one person to announce an injustice to the world.

Furthermore, even more take a stand every time they decide to not purchase products from a company that behaves poorly.

I believe that capitalism alone can shut down those that decide that shocking marketing is part of their business plan. The collective buying power of our industry speaks every time we decide to buy or not buy a beer that is uses sex to sell.

Are Women Offended By Beer Marketing?

Since I’m not a woman, I wanted to find out if women are offended by the use of women in beer marketing.

When I asked Kristen Ballinger of Listermann Brewing if she was offended by the beer name and label that depict women, she said, “Not Really”. But she added, “I believe that some breweries feel that they need to depict women like that because sex sells, but with this craft beer movement I think we have progressed away from those cheap marketing ploys. If the beer is good, it’s not necessary for women to be sexualized on the label.”

As someone that works in marketing, I am sure she is very aware of this issue and it’s great to hear that she sees it as less of an issue than in the past.

Lindsey Roeper of Rivertown had this to add to this topic, “If I feel that an ad, product, brand or show is negatively portraying any gender in a way that I believe is inappropriate, I choose not to engage with it or purchase that product.”

But it’s not just about gender as she added, “Generally speaking, our culture has gotten very bent on using the downfall or disrespectful portrayal of others as a source of entertainment – we would benefit as a whole if there was more open communication, love, understanding and real life interaction with a whole lot less screen time.”

Linsey Kraeling of Tour De Cincinnati added, “I’m offended that they haven’t learned to do and be better.” She isn’t overly offended by much of this marketing as it seems she’s learned to move on and find something worth her time.

She continued with thoughts about how women often depict themselves in marketing and social media, “There’s probably pressure to differentiate herself in the industry. Unfortunately, sometimes that means sexualizing posts.”

Instead, Linsey looks for women that look to overcome this. “I really respect women who transcend the stereotype because it requires so much extra effort, research and knowledge on the topic.”

It’s clear that these women are great examples of what transcending stereotypes looks like in the beer industry.

Navigating The Social Media Landscape

There are many times that I am thankful that I don’t operate a large company and have to worry about social media. Being active on social media is nearly a requirement for success but being able to reply quickly, accurately and without offending isn’t easy.

But there’s some basic strategies that companies should consider when it comes to responsible marketing:

Don’t post anything that excludes a specific group – instead be inclusive
Take a positive stance
Plan the majority of your content
Avoid replying/commenting on controversial topics
Develop a company mindset that drives all customer interactions
Do not repost anything that goes against the company’s core values

Companies are under great pressure to be constantly “on”. Social media makes everyone accessible and accountable. Having a strategy to ensure your company is portrayed appropriately is critical.

If you work in the beer industry or for a brewery, you should check out this 30 Day Social Media Bootcamp. I was lucky enough to participate in the past and it provided some great tips for being relevant and thoughtful when conducting social media marketing.

For me, Instagram is a great place to marketing craft beer. The visual aspect makes it perfect for displaying a tasty beer.

However, there is also the side of Instagram where “sex sells” and many are capitalizing on gaining followers by posting sexually charged content.

It’s not my place to say a person or brand should post but I think that we all are judged for who we follow just as much as what we post.

Final Thoughts

Bottom line, we have to be more kind to each other.

This goes for gender, race, beliefs and just about everything else. Beer is predominately a male industry and I don’t think that is by design but rather by interest. More men like beer than women – at this point. But this does not justify creating a “boys club” where women are intentionally excluded, objectified or mistreated.

Instead, we must embrace the fact that more and more women are finding their way to craft beer. More people loving craft beer means more demand and more breweries and more craft beer.

If anyone over the age of 21 wants to learn about craft beer, we should accept them with open arms and show them that this community is where they belong.

But these newcomers to craft beer need to feel welcomed. And sexually offensive marketing will not provide the best environment to do that.

There’s quite a few other ways to market beer than to leverage sex and it’s obvious that is minimally alienates a large portion of drinkers and offends just as many.

It’s a heavy topic to discuss but hopefully I’ve provided something to think about. I’m not saying anything revolutionary but rather stating where I stand and what I expect to see from the craft breweries that I support.