IF BREWDOG’S INTENTION with the launch of their ‘beer for equality’ was to spark a war of words on Twitter, it’s safe to say they have succeeded.
In an article published on their website earlier today, the multi-national brewery and pub chain announced they were seeking to raise further awareness of the gender pay with the release of Pink IPA.
Satirically dubbed Beer for Girls, Pink IPA is BrewDog’s clarion call to close the gender pay gap in the UK and around the world and to expose sexist marketing to women, particularly within the beer industry.
Ahead of International Womens Day on Thursday, the brewery are launching a beer that tastes exactly the same as their others, but is – and here’s the important part - packaged in pink.
For the next four weeks, we are offering Pink IPA. Inside the bottle, it is the exact same beer as Punk IPA. But on the outside, it looks different. This is a reflection of the situation around the world relating to gender imbalance – Pink IPA is our effort to raise awareness of the current, unwelcome, status quo.
And with that particular announcement came an avalanche of responses on Twitter; some in support of the endeavour and others, well, not so much.
Indeed, Twitter users have wasted no time debating the motivation behind the beer’s launch.
“This has the right motivations but the wrong execution,” wrote one social media user.
You have lots of supportive shareholders who are female scientists & engineers. They could have been involved, collaborated and a simple engagement with those supporters could have given you a much stronger campaign.
In contrast, other social media users have suggested that the point of both the approach and the motivation behind the launch has been missed by many.
“I think I could hear the point as it whooshed over your head,” countered one.
Oh dear. This is like when teenagers discover sarcasm. Marketing pink beer at women in order to call out other people marketing pink beer at women isn’t “satirical”. It’s marketing pink beer at women.
Oh, and by the way, as of Thursday, those identifying as female will get 20% off in BrewDog bars – the equivalent of the gender pay gap.
And why exactly? Well, according to BrewDog, it’s because “reality really is that harsh”.
