BrewDog: yet another hip company using 'rebel' language to sell its stuff

[Storm Fox]

It is very clever marketing, but also insidious and hateful.
AFAICT they are using sad in three ways

Sad as in unhappy
SAD as in Seasonal Affective Disorder
and sad as in pathetic

Saying 'I'm feeling sad as fuck ' is totally different from being called 'sad as fuck' and the standalone statement normally would imply the pathetic interpretation. Added to that, alcohol-free beer has, or at least had a connotation of being rather pathetic, although that seems to be diminishing, but this isn't going to help that view.
Then there is their get out of we are talking about S.A.D. with this charity and not being edgy at all.

Also going up to the bar and ordering SAD AF isn't exactly going to sell it, so the charity's donation from BD is going to be less, and who wants to come back from the bar and have their pissed up mates giving them top bantz about buying or being SAD AF.

 

[8ball]

Brew Dog have been calling their alcohol free versions AF for years, I think it's only Nanny State that goes without it. And of course it's an edgelord thing. Whether the charity they are working with approached them or vice versa (and there are certainly charities that would be only to happy to do so, cos some of them are crap too) is pretty irrelevant, imo.

It's all just more (whatever the appropriate colour for charities is)washing, trying to move the conversation on and still being edgelords. You might think that after being repeatedly hauled over the coals for misogyny they might think about not just targeting a campaign at their male clientele. But I guess they're misogynists, so that thought doesn't even occur to them.

Ah, so they decided to ridicule male sufferers of mental illness because they hate women.

 

[belboid]

Ah, so they decided to ridicule male sufferers of mental illness because they hate women.

No, like certain other people, they just don't even think about women at all. So only aim their crappy edgelord campaigns at blokes.

 

[Spymaster]

No, like certain other people, they just don't even think about women at all. So only aim their crappy edgelord campaigns at blokes.

It's not a question of thinking about women, it's about what their market is. They've carved themselves a niche and that's what their marketing is designed to appeal to.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

I think it's a clever marketing campaign.

 

[belboid]

It's not a question of thinking about women, it's about what their market is. They've carved themselves a niche and that's what their marketing is designed to appeal to.

Ohh please. They haven't 'carved themselves' any such thing - unless you can point to any piece showing their market is even more male than other craft brewers. They might well get slightly more because their campaigns are off-putting to women. Are you trying to claim that as a deliberate strategy now? It would be at odds with what they claim about being female friendly. So which story do you want to go with?

 

[friedaweed]

It's not a question of thinking about women, it's about what their market is. They've carved themselves a niche and that's what their marketing is designed to appeal to.

Your friend at our house, you know the pretty one who puts up with me, is the only person who ever buys brewdog. She likes their Dead Pony Club Pale Ale which I've always found quite odd given she's a horse lover Some weird marketing going on with that one.

 

[8ball]

Your friend at our house, you know the pretty one who puts up with me, is the only person who ever buys brewdog. She likes their Dead Pony Club Pale Ale which I've always found quite odd given she's a horse lover Some weird marketing going on with that one.

Dead Pony Club on draft is quite nice. Not full of pineapple.
Astonishing equinophobia in the name, though.

 

[PR1Berske]

You wouldn't get 142 pages about Thwaites, I'll say that.

 

[belboid]

Here's an interesting piece on their marketing from last year. The author is a fan, but she easily notes how being seen as a blokey company is a bad move

How to Brew a Strong Beer Brand

Craft beer BrewDog is now competing with players such as Budweiser, Heineken, and Carlsberg. What stands behind BrewDogs’ success? This article has the answers.

latana.com

 

[Spymaster]

- unless you can point to any piece showing their market is even more male than other craft brewers.

Seriously?

Their market isn't just males. It's much more specific than that. It's laddish blokes aged 18 to around 40.

 

[belboid]

Seriously?

Their market isn't just males. It's much more specific than that. It's laddish blokes aged 18 to around 40.

Wrong. (see above post). If you re going to make wild claims you need to provide some serious evidence for them.

 

[friedaweed]

Dead Pony Club on draft is quite nice. Not full of pineapple.
Astonishing equinophobia in the name, though.

Never had it on draft, our lass did though when we visited The Brizzol Brewdog place on a trip ages ago and since then every now and then she'll buy a box of them. I had two pints of some 9.8% imperial stout that made me talk shite which, coincidentally, she's never come home from shopping with.

To be honest I prefer a pale ale with a bit more thump.

 

[equationgirl]

There isn’t a double meaning which includes it being a pejorative to the mentally ill. Could you point to sources that dispute this?
And can you stop with this ‘mansplaining’ bollocks? I have to explain my self to make my posts make sense there’s nothing sexist about me trying to make myself clearer.

Calling someone sad as fuck isn't a compliment.

Do you know what mainsplaining is? It's explaining something that to a women that she has already pointed out. Friedaweed previously asked what AF meant in the context of Brewdog. I said they use the letters to denote Alcohol Free, but how I absolutely believed that Brewdog were taking advantage of the double meaning.

And then you explained that back to me, by saying it meant Alcohol Free.

 

[Spymaster]

Wrong. (see above post).

She doesn't disagree with me. What she's saying is basically that they've missed a trick by not attempting to also appeal to women.

 

[SpookyFrank]

I think it's a clever marketing campaign.

Yeah maybe but it's a question of succeeding at one thing by failing at something much more important, namely Not Being a Cunt.

 

[friedaweed]

I think it's a clever marketing campaign.

Clearly it is because people are talking about their new beer. Look at how this thread's got legs...

This sort of thing always reminds me of the late great Bill Hicks in his prime

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Calling someone sad as fuck isn't a compliment.

Do you know what mainsplaining is? It's explaining something that to a women that she has already pointed out. Friedaweed previously asked what AF meant in the context of Brewdog. I said they use the letters to denote Alcohol Free, but how I absolutely believed that Brewdog were taking advantage of the double meaning.

And then you explained that back to me, by saying it meant Alcohol Free.

No I didn’t, I said what I thought it was poking fun at not ‘mansplaning’ what it meant so stop using your daft feminist playbook against my reasonable points.

 

[belboid]

She doesn't disagree with me. What she's saying is basically that they've missed a trick by not attempting to also appeal to women.

She explicitly notes who is actually aware of the brand and who drinks it. Mostly men over 55. And women aren’t that far behind, either - roughly in line with other brewers. So your claims in 4234 and 4241 are explicitly refuted.

 

[equationgirl]

No I didn’t, I said what I thought it was poking fun at not ‘mansplaning’ what it meant so stop using your daft feminist playbook against my reasonable points.

Stop using feminist as a pejorative.

You claim to have changed. So far I am seeing no evidence of that.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Stop using feminist as a pejorative.

You claim to have changed. So far I am seeing no evidence of that.

Changed from what? I don’t agree that ‘SAD AF’ is a pejorative aimed at the mentally unwell, that I state this isn’t reduced to me ‘mansplaining’ and that you say it is is because of an agenda you have rather than taking my point at face value.

 

[equationgirl]

Changed from what? I don’t agree that ‘SAD AF’ is a pejorative aimed at the mentally unwell, that I state this isn’t reduced to me ‘mansplaining’ and that you say it is is because of an agenda you have rather than taking my point at face value.

Changed from attacking feminism and being on the wind up the whole time, nothing to do with sad AF.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Changed from attacking feminism and being on the wind up the whole time, nothing to do with sad AF.

I’m not attacking feminism. I made a point and you saying that was me ‘mansplaining’ strikes me as odd given you then state it’s on the basis of me agreeing with your earlier point.

 

[AverageJoe]

Well for sure. It's just that specific term means something to me which isn't at all connected to mental health. And those claiming it is I'm dubious about if it's part of their vocabulary.

That's cos you're a contrary keyboard warrior cunt.

I hope when the time comes that you might need some help from someone, I hope that they decide to help you as opposed to walk away because of the utter shit you spout.

If you haven't heard the phrase "shit" before, then it can mean a lot of things. "That's the real shit" = good.

"Magnus McGinty is a fucking contrary shit" = bad.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

That's cos you're a contrary keyboard warrior cunt.

I hope when the time comes that you might need some help from someone, that they decide to help you as opposed to walk away because of the utter shit you spout.

If you haven't heard the phrase "shit" before, then it can mean a lot of things. "That's the real shit" = good.

"Magnus McGinty is a fucking contrary shit" = bad.

Thanks for not attempting to understand anything in favour of making it fit to suit.
If that was a threat I can take It because you’re simply inventing stuff.

 

[two sheds]

I’m not attacking feminism.

errm

your daft feminist playbook

 

[JimW]

Reviewing your union on trustpilot because you relate to them as a consumer seems like something you could spin a long handwringing piece out of. Depressing.

 

[8ball]

errm

That would depend on whether the pejorative is "daft", "feminist", or possibly "daft feminist".

 

[eatmorecheese]

daft feminist playbook

sigh

 

[hitmouse]

Ah, so they decided to ridicule male sufferers of mental illness because they hate women.

Tbf, whatever you think of the beer label in question, surely this is not the first time you've encountered the idea that men can be sexist/misogynist, and channel some of that into ridiculing men who they perceive as not living up to proper standards of masculinity?
As someone once said:

Sexism, and more specifically this form of sexism which is a reaction to people’s gender deviance- not being a Proper Man, or a Proper Woman, is something that seems to be ignored. It plays a huge part in homophobia- A gay boy, who is very masculine and handy with his fists is not likely to be bullied at school. School kids don’t usually see what their school mates find sexually attractive, they see how they behave. Effeminate boys are bullied for being effeminate- and the words the kids use are gay, and batty boy, but they’re being bullied because they’re not acting like Real Men, this is sexism, but we call it homophobia. And when you call it homophobia, what organisations are there helping the effeminate straight boy? He’s being told that it’s okay to be gay, but no one’s saying that it’s okay to be a bit girly.

You wouldn't get 142 pages about Thwaites, I'll say that.

I might drop them an email suggesting that they adopt a brilliantly edgy new marketing style where they write the first, third, fourth and sixth letters of their name really big and all the others really small, I'll let you all know how it turns out.