THE GIST
Who has more cultural cachet: the Notorious B.I.G or Princess Leia?
Australia’s Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC), which proposes standards for beer labels and marketing, has recently fielded a rising number of complaints regarding beer names and label designs. Complaints have ranged from accusations that designs appeal to children to questions about vulgar slang terms.
In one of its most recent rulings, the ABAC weighed complaints made against West Australia’s Feral Brewing Company, which references the Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls) on two of its beers: Biggie Juice IPA and Imperial Biggie Double IPA.
“With due respect to the late Mr Wallace … [he] is no Homer Simpson or Princess Leia when it comes to cultural level impact,” The ABAC wrote in its response, using the rapper’s given name, Christopher Wallace. In what could be seen as a lack of pop-cultural savvy, the decision didn’t mention or seem to take into account B.I.G.’s legacy—he’s considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, despite having been killed at the age of 24 in 1997.
“No doubt the Company is seeking an edgy feel to the products, but it is a long bow to think a reasonable person on viewing the designs on the cans will be encouraged to embark on anti-social behaviours by choosing the 'Gangsta' life,” ABAC concluded.
However, in the same ruling, Feral was deemed in breach of Part 3(a)(iv) of the ABAC Responsible Marketing Code because of social media posts highlighting two of its beers (Imperial Biggie and another DIPA, Tusk) for their high alcohol contents. The relevant clause states marketing cannot “encourage the choice of a particular Alcohol Beverage by emphasising its alcohol strength (unless emphasis is placed on the Alcohol Beverage’s low alcohol strength relative to the typical strength for similar beverages) or the intoxicating effect of alcohol.” Feral was required to remove the social media posts within five days to comply with the code.
Controversy over the brewery’s decision to use a rap music icon in its branding isn’t the only larger-than-life demonstration of how the ABAC addresses complaints.
Earlier this year, the board ruled on another problematic beer, Jedi Juice New England IPA, made by Melbourne’s Hop Nation Brewing Company. In that ruling, ABAC decided the image of Star Wars character Princess Leia on the can was in breach of the code, due to the fact it could appeal to children (intellectual property issues are not within ABAC’s scope)The group even went so far as to comment on Fisher’s looks and question whether they could be enticing to teens. The board ultimately decided that that couldn’t be the case, because Leia is attractive to all: “image is attractive to males of all ages and this does not make it particularly appealing for minors,” it wrote.
Those aren’t the only recent examples of such publicity-generating rulings. In October, One Drop Brewing Co. and Kellogg’s collaborated on Corn Flake Nitro IPA and received three complaints. ABAC ruled that both the concept and the branding of that beer were in breach of its code, saying that “taken as a whole, a reasonable person would likely believe the packaging has strong or evident appeal to minors.”
At least one of the complaints came from anti-alcohol lobby group, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE).
“Such branding, with its clear appeal and recognition to children is unacceptable, should be deemed a clear breach of alcohol advertising standards and is way out of line with community standards and expectations,” FARE said in a statement in October.
In 2018, eight out of 64 rulings made by ABAC involved small or craft breweries. Out of 54 rulings in 2019, 18 related to this segment, and 14 of those cases occurred since FARE’s statement. The brewery that has seen the most complaints in this period is Adelaide’s Pirate Life Brewing. Of the 14 complaints filed in the last three months, eight concern Pirate Life, and some relate to social media posts as far back as 2014; the volume and dates could suggest Pirate Life is being targeted for infractions. Via email, a FARE spokesperson told Good Beer Hunting the group is not responsible for the Pirate Life complaints, and that it has made no complaints since the One Drop/Kellogg’s beer.
WHY IT MATTERS
ABAC is a voluntary system, funded by the Brewers Association of Australia, Spirits & Cocktails Australia, and Australian Grape & Wine Incorporated.
“The ABAC Scheme is the centrepiece of Australia’s quasi-regulatory system and is administered by a Management Committee which includes industry, advertising and government representatives,” it says on its site.
Infractions of the ABAC code don’t incur fines, nor risk of legal cases. In the cases outlined above, the breweries were asked to remove social media posts within five business days. If packaging is found to be at fault, ABAC states the brewery has to “immediately cease further orders.” In all situations, abiding by any decision is completely voluntary by a brewery and there are no repercussions from ignoring a request. However, some chain stores have their own policies to not stock beers the ABAC say are in violation.
The code is designed to prevent harsher regulation and if breweries don’t comply there are no repercussions. However with Government-funded organisations like FARE monitoring rulings closely, and academic papers recommending harsher legal measures, non-compliance will likely draw unwanted attention to the entire industry.
Hop Nation, whose Princess Leia can art was found in violation of standards, isn’t a stranger to the group. In the past, the brewery has submitted packaging for pre-vetting to allow it to be sold through stores that are signatories to the ABAC code.
Jedi Juice had not been submitted and, as a result of the ruling, Hop Nation will discontinue the beer, but only once existing printed stock runs out. The brewery told Australian Brews News that it would take roughly a year before this would happen. Due to this relatively low-stakes system, FARE wants to see power shifted to to government legislation, which ABAC was created to avoid.
“[T]he Australian Government should model legislative bans on alcohol advertising on the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 (Cth). This Act comprehensively imposes restrictions on the broadcasting and publishing of tobacco advertisements, and provides a precedent for this to occur for alcohol products,” FARE’s site reads.
Issues around pop culture and colorful branding are not unique to Australia. In the U.S., Charlotte, North Carolina’s Sycamore Brewing is currently recalling its 2019 Christmas Cookie Ale to replace the reindeer kama sutra pattern covering the cans. Recently, GBH reported on Tiny Rebel’s ongoing fight with the Portman Group in the U.K.; in that case, the brewery’s logo was deemed in violation of branding and advertising code.
“In the Panel’s view, the presence of the teddy bear on the front of the can, coupled with the use in the design of a bubble font and bright primary colours, meant that the product had particular appeal to under 18s,” the Portman Group wrote in its summary.
There’s no doubt that pop culture is an easy marketing device for breweries. On busy shelves, breweries need to do anything they can to stand out and get brand recognition. If they can play off an existing brand, then a big chunk of the work is done. However, operating this way not only risks regulator intervention but also trademark breaches. Chicago’s All Rise Brewing Company was recently forced to change its Low Life beer, which was designed to mimic Miller High Life, after Miller intervened. Despite the obvious attempt to play off the High Life brand, All Rise said on social media: “We don't see it, but we decided to change the logo and the name to something completely original.” In 2018, Sony took legal action against Auburn, California’s Knee Deep Brewing for its “Breaking Bad”-inspired beer, Breaking Bud.
Potential trademark issues aside, it seems that pop culture is OK with Australia’s regulator—as long as it isn’t too popular. While Princess Leia has been pushed into the garbage chute, Biggie’s iconic crown isn’t Ready to Die just yet.
Words by Luke Robertson