Despite strides away from overtly sexist and masculine imagery, beer advertising still fails to connect with women, according to the recent “Gender Pint Gap: Revisited” report by Dea Latis, a women’s collective. Annabel Smith, the group’s co-founder, report editor, and beer sommelier, highlights that British women remain overlooked as a primary audience in beer marketing.
Smith, analyzing YouGov data, notes that while sexism has diminished in beer ads, these campaigns still “don’t resonate” with women. Many women remain ambivalent and lack recall of current beer advertisements.
In an exclusive interview with the drinks business, Smith explained: “Both our 2018 report and the latest report show that men and women agree beer advertising is typically targeted towards men. However, upon reviewing current campaigns, we found little evidence of overt masculinity. Most ads focus on the beer’s legacy, social settings, festivals, food occasions, and the experience economy.”
Adding context, Smith referenced American academic Helana Darwin, who suggests that beer brands avoid positioning beer as gender-neutral to prevent alienating their core male consumers. This cautious approach, while eliminating blatant sexism, still fails to appeal to women.
The report also posits that women’s perceptions may be influenced by historical ads they recall, often male-oriented and sport/pub-centric, rather than current campaigns. Streaming services and social media allow users to skip ads, potentially reducing women’s exposure to contemporary beer advertising.
Smith further questioned whether women are becoming cynical about campaigns positioning beer as inclusive when their experiences suggest otherwise. Authenticity is crucial, and attempts to appear diverse can be met with skepticism if not genuine.
During her research, Smith found that many women struggled to recall recently advertised beer brands, often defaulting to older campaigns from the 90s and 2000s. This suggests that current advertising fails to resonate with them, leading to rejection of the product as “not for them.”
