South African beer company apologises for ‘sexist’ branding on new craft range

‘We were insensitive and wrong, for which we apologise unreservedly’

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A South African company has issued an apology after it was heavily chastised for its “sexist” and “misogynistic” beer marketing campaign.

Vale, a clothing retailer from Edenvale, Gauteng, recently released a new collection of craft beers.

The Vale Bru range included a variety of beers with names that crudely referred to women, such as “Filthy Brunette”, “Easy Blonde” and "Ripe Redhead".

The “Easy Blonde” came with the tagline: “All your friends have already had her,” while the “Filthy Brunette” was announced with a caption that read: “When gushing and moist are used to describe something, then you know.”

The company has been condemned by many for its highly controversial marketing campaign.

“Vale Bru, you should be ashamed of yourselves,” said Thandi Guilherme, a beer drinker, writer and brewer who goes by the name “Craft Geek” online.

“Crass, sexist, misogynistic branding and labelling,” she continued.

Thandi Guilherme (Instagram/@craftgeekza)

Lucy Corne, a beer and travel writer, has written a blog post expressing her utter dismay over the blatant “sexism” of the labelling.

“Clearly the whole #metoo movement has passed these guys by,” she wrote.

“Your ‘hilarious’ beer names show your attitude towards women - as something to have sex with. Not to be respected or included.

“I think what really irritates me though, is that these labels automatically exclude me as a drinker.”

Vale has since issued a couple of apologies regarding the issue, the first of which Ms Corne took a screenshot of due to the brand’s “lack of understanding” over why it caused offense.

“To any ladies out there that we have offended, please accept our humblest apologies,” the statement read.

“We aim to make our beer fun and we want our loyal followers to engage with us. Our attempt at making you, and ourselves, uncomfortable, worked.”

As the first apology apparently didn’t receive the response that was intended, Vale then released a second statement making its stance on the situation somewhat clearer.

“We were insensitive and wrong, for which we apologise unreservedly,” the apology stated.

“We take full responsibility for our actions and we plan on making things right.”

The company then outlined its plans to remove all of its aforementioned labels from the market immediately and redesigning their products to be more inclusive in future.

“Hindsight is an exact science and reflecting on the for/against sentiment of our actions, we understand now that we overlooked a deep underlying social issue.

“We live in a fragile society which needs nurturing rather than polarising actions, something which we have full clarity on now."