PINK AGAIN

So, that escalated quickly.

Yesterday we launched Pink IPA - a satirical joke about products marketed to women using patronising gender stereotypes (such as making things pink or covering them in glitter. Ridiculous things).

For many of you - well, most of you - it seems we didn’t land the joke. The fact that people so easily believed that we were serious about the name and branding is a stark reminder of the scale of the problem. We should have done more to show that this element of the campaign was tongue in cheek.

Our intention when calling it Pink IPA was to spark conversation around stereotypes and gender inequality. To poke fun at those brands marketing pink things to women.  We’re sorry it wasn’t clear enough.

This a project conceived and developed by a talented team of women at BrewDog, including but not limited to Sarah Warman, our Global Head of Marketing, Tanisha Robinson, CEO of BrewDog USA and Allison Green, Global People Director and International Commercial Director. These women wanted to do something to mark International Women’s Day. And it’s safe to say we marked the hell out of it.

It’s encouraging to see how many people are passionate about the issues we wanted to highlight. Regardless of the reaction to its packaging, the reaction to Pink IPA definitely proved there is a need for more awareness about the gender pay gap, and a better understanding of what it is.

For anyone who missed it, the gender pay gap in the UK is 20%. As such, 20% of proceeds from Pink IPA and Punk IPA sold over the next 4 weeks will be donated to the Women’s Engineering Society and 9to5. Charities that support women and promote equality.

So will we stop championing equality? No. Will we stop believing that beer can change the world? Never. Will we try to be funnier next time? Yeah, probably.

Thank you to everyone who turned Pink IPA into an international debate, regardless of your take on it.

Now, let’s close that fucking pay gap.