Do you ever think about what the advertising for the beer you drink says about you? Are you downing the cool beer, the beer for average guys, the working man’s beer, or the beer for metrosexuals?
Beer ads have long been an interest of mine. I devoted a chapter of my doctoral thesis to the Castle Lager rainbow nation campaigns of the 1990s, and since then I’ve kept an eye on commercials for a beverage I rarely, if ever, consume. (I’ve been known to down a Black Label on the odd occasion.)
From my outsider’s point of view, it’s interesting how much the beer market in South Africa has changed over the past decade or so. Castle Lager was big in the 1990s, but seems to have lost its way, losing its status as South Africa’s best-selling beer to Black Label (aka Zamalek). A million mineworkers can’t be wrong, as they used to say. I’ve always thought of Castle as the unimaginative, reliable oke beer drunk by, well, slightly boring, reliable okes (perhaps there are fewer of them around, hence the decline in Castle volumes). If I were to segment the whisky market in the same way, I’d mark Castle Lager as the equivalent of Bell’s.
In contrast, Castle Lite was originally launched to target black women — who at the time drank more ordinary Castle than white men, but for apparently cultural reasons could never been shown consuming beer in an ad — but has steadily morphed into the BEE beer of choice: at least, judging by its advertising and the fact that it is marketed in green glass rather than brown. (Incidentally, Hansa is also playing in that territory at the moment, which is normally occupied by brandy and whisky brands, notably Chivas, which is clearly targeting Johnnie Walker Black drinkers.) The low carb angle, which is huge in the US beer market, seems to be ignored in South Africa.
It’s also interesting that both Castle Lite and Windhoek Lager are using Americans famous for being has-beens in their advertising: Vanilla Ice in the case of Castle Lite and Louis Gossett Jr in the case of Windhoek.
Heineken is the regular fun guy beer, made more desirable by its international fame. Windhoek plays in a similar space, though a male Heineken drinker I canvassed is adamant that the two brands appeal to very different consumers. Miller is the party beer, the equivalent of alcopops, and not for serious drinkers. Peroni is the slick poser beer, suitable for consumption while seated at Parkhurst pavement cafes. Amstel — well, as for Amstel, it hasn’t been the same since SAB lost the licence to brew and market it.
By the way, if you think beer is expensive in South Africa, here’s a fascinating set of graphs from Morgan Stanley to indicate the market dominance by a few players results in higher prices for beer. (Interestingly, according to these figures, beer is even more expensive in Australia. Maybe you should rethink your emigration plans.)
I’d love to know what beer drinkers think of these ads. Do they influence you in any way? Do they align, roughly, with your image of the product? Or are your reasons for drinking your brand linked purely to the way it tastes? Even if you do swear that your choice of tipple is not driven by image, I’d be willing to bet that at some point, somewhere, what others think of what you drink is at least as important as your own opinion.
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52 Responses to “What does your beer say about you?”
I have never known anyone to switch beer brand due to advertising. I thing the Windhoek ads are amusing, but then I am a Windhoek drinker.
I switched to Windhoek many years ago due to the excellent taste of their Light, and found good tastes in their Draft and Lager
[…] Thought Leader » Sarah Britten » What does your beer say about you? www.thoughtleader.co.za/sarahbritten/2009/11/17/what-does-your-beer-say-about-you – view page – cached Do you ever think about what the advertising for the beer you drink says about you? Are you downing the cool beer, the beer for average guys, the working man’s beer, or the beer for metrosexuals? […]
The beer market must be one of the few that is quite clearly delineated. What about those who only drink ‘boutique’ beers that are from micro-breweries or fully imported?
siyabonga ntshingila on November 18th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Black Label….wow what a ‘fermented, cooked’ beer it is. This is a world class beer. Thanx Dr.Sarah for occassionally allowin it in ya streams.
Ads, do nothin, apart from distructing a good soapie or one of those repeated good movies. Atleast for drinkers. People who value taste and goodness of beer.
‘Occassional drinkers (sic) go for style, majority and light taste (sweetness, light) drinks. I want to believe ads only do a 10% and only for the under 18 and starters in liquour drink.
Ads don’t influence me at all - it’s the taste. I have tried all of the beers available in SA over the years and have settled on Windhoek draft in the bottle or can, and Windhoek draft (from the tap) when available when going out. I am too old (60 years) to be bothered about what others think of my beer.
Cheers!
I drink purely for the taste, in other words, I don’t drink beer or whiskey, cause it tastes crap, and no heat wave or mowing a school’s rugby field on a summer day is going to change that fact.
On the plus side, I am not overweight with a, you guessed it, BEER BELLY!!!
I drink whichever beer I like the taste of. If anybody actually bought a particular beer because they want to be like the guy on the advert - that would be extremely sad and stupid…
It’s Heineken for me, and that’s because of taste. My circle are probably 50% Windhoek, 40% Heineken and the balance a mixture of other beers. Agree about the Castle drinkers in the 90’s. Looking back thats exactly what it was, and I always had one in my hand (and only SAB could rely on me, no comment on being unimaginative). What I do not understand is why the brands are separated by the colour of the bottle. Generally the so called premium brands are in green bottles with the plebs in brown. It would’nt make an iota of difference to me if Heineken was in a brown bottle. Charlie Cooper wrote a comical piece in Bike SA about 4 or 5 issues ago about the drinkers of beer, basically taking the piss out of green bottle drinkers. Worth looking up.
y choice of Windhoek as my staple was pretty ideological. It’s not SAB and it’s not a global brand, it retains a sense of honesty, localness and importantly, purity. Apparently they don’t put in all the chemical crap that SAB does. I don’t want to have my illusions shattered if this is not the case… beer choice is all about the illusion that there’s any difference.
My whimsical beer is Corona (I can’t find Sol these days…) because my wife and I went on our first movie date to see Y tu mama tambien and there’s a gorgeous scene with the lovers dancing on a mexican beach drinking beer (dunno if it was Corona, but any weak-ass clear-glass mexcian beer with a lemon stuck in the neck will do). Every time we drink Mexican beer we promise ourselves we’ll do the beach dancing some day.
I drink Guinness or Kilkenny as a starter when out at a bar with draft. Because those flash images of real draft and draft horses and cobblestones and hearty irishmen.
I drink dark ale in the UK… john whatsisname, because you can’t get it here.
I hit the microbreweries in the States and sampled their regional lagers… Samuel Adams in the norrthwest?… Read more
Essentially I look for local colour even if it is just a myth of image.
i have drank all the beers that u have metioned. I change from Amstel to Heineken because i enjoyed the Heineken taste more, and then changed to Castle Lite because of the low carbs. I i not enjoy the taste of Peroni and Windhoek gets me bloated. Excuse me for my ignorance what is this cultural reason for not showing black women consuming Castle Lite. I am a black woman and i have never heard of it. As for the ads they are totally off the mark.
When i have lots of cash to spare, i drink Heineken, when I am with a lot of friends and I am the one buying, i drink whatever is affordable, when I am not buying, anything goes. Guess the advertisers have failed to convince me !!!!!!!!
“In contrast, Castle Lite was originally launched to target black women — who at the time drank more ordinary Castle than white men, but for apparently cultural reasons could never been shown consuming beer in an ad”
Good article although I’m surprised that black women prefer Castle, as I haven’t seen a black girl drinking Castle or Castle Lite. The black girls I’ve met don’t like beer. My girl friend says it tastes like herbs. According to the white girls that ive met is that, white girls are the ones that prefer beer especially Castle and Black Label.
My Choice of beer is guided by taste, not marketing.
When at varsity in the 90s I drank Castle or Hansa. Castle then went rotten and dealt out the most evil hangovers imaginable! I can’t even look at a bottle without getting a headache.
I think SAB put too much “other stuff” as windhoek says into their beer.
Hansa, Zamalek, Amstel, Millers, depends on how I feel and what’s available.
If a micro-brewery has some offerings though, the mainstream brands don’t stand a chance against them! There is a masive gulf in taste between mainstream and micro. Pity the micro’s are much more expensive which makes them rare treats!
I drink Black Label and it is purely for the taste. I did drink Lion Lager before they changed the beer to something undrinkable. Wonder why they did it? The brand fell flat on it’s back after that.
Sarah, You rarely make me emotional, but this is one such occasion – I love beer, Castle Lager to be precise, nothing else compares accept maybe Coors Lite from the US. Beer is a subject I can speak on with authority. I drink Castle purely because of the taste. Once everyone is done pretending and looking for affirmation from society, one lands up with what they really like regardless of what colour bottle it comes in and no matter what caliber of individual should drink it or what LSM it is aimed at. Before Castle, I drank Heineken (I was young & foolish) and before that I used to easily put away a case of the very potent Savanna Dry in one afternoon… To be young
Now it is the brown-bottled king of beer and on occasion (Tuesdays) a Bottle of JW Black. The one thing that I would consider changing from Castle for is the Windhoek Super-dumpy - 440ml of beer in a glass bottle, which means it stays colder for longer, unlike the Castle Long Tom. Now there is an innovation that should win awards! No more running to the fridge every 7 minutes for a new beer, now I can chill 11minutes on that bottle – I miss less rugby on the Telly and expend less energy that way.
Castle should really look into the 440ml dumpy… Really!
Thats funny I used to think that beer was about taste…as in tastebuds, but having read this clearly I was wrong, its about what colour jeans you wear…
Having lived abroad for many years, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands to try and drink as many different types of beer as possible…terrible life, hated it, especially that Belgian stuff, you know 10% alcohol, tasty and served with a menu there were so many…LOL
Fully converted to Windhoek - have you ever held a Windhoek draft bottle. You could take on every jock in Tiger using just that.
Seriously though, it seems to me as if the average beer drinker cares more about the beers they DON’T like then the ones they do. If I hear people discussing beer its more likely that they are trashing what the other guy is drinking.
I began my ‘career’ on Castle, then found out it is an artifical beer and realised it tasted not that nice.
Millers is too lame since it goes down too easily, Heinekin is too bitter (their adverts are clever though) and Black Label always serves as a useful option when you don’t have one.
I’m probably a 65% Windhoek Lager drinker since it is a natural beer (the advertising certainly proved a point) otherwise I indulge in Marzen Gold since it tastes nice.
In fairness, I don’t touch Peroni & Millers because A) The taste is average B) You look like a poser or someone who doens’t understand beer.
I used to be a slightly boring, reliable kind of oke. Wouldn’t touch any other beer and always lifted my glass to Charles before that first somewhat dry, somewhat bitter never sweet sip.
Then, on one fateful party about 15 years ago, I needlessly got involved in an argument, which led to an ill-conceived blind beer tasting test and ultimately a rating by myself of my own, beloved brand as Bavaria Point 5.
Granted, this gross misjudgement came about after hours of dark ale tapped from a wooden barrel, but I never fully recoved from the shame. My humiliation was not helped by the fact that all the other tasters were staunch Germans, who only drank stuff brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot.
Ironically, I now live in Germany and have had to agree belatedly that Castle Lager cannot compete with any of the brews that are available here.
Back in SA on holiday I find myself in the corner of my former foes, trying to convince Castle drinkers to “get off the chemicals”.
What hasn;t changed is that I’m still a slightly boring, reliable kind of oke.
The Heineken ad with the dudes screaming like girls because of the built in fridge is the best ad on tele at the moment…the one guy dancing with excitement is priceless…
The market advertisers target is not always the market that ends up buying the product. Advertisers have been known to get their approach wrong.
This is particularly evident with advertising made for a racially segmented market; what appeals to one culture, is a total turn-off for another.
I’ve started enjoying alcohol free Cobra Beer. I can have one anytime in the day, it has no impact on my driving ability, and it tastes refreshingly good! I can’t say I’ve seen much advertising for it but I figure if I want to get drunk I’d rather have something with a higher alcohol content than beer anyway…
The effectiveness of advertising to pull someone towards one’s brand is a function of several factors, most of which are beyond the power of the advertiser (although it could be argued that a kak advert does contain more power to have the adverse effect of pushing one away from a brand than a good advert to attract one to a brand). For instance, the advertiser has no way of guaging the viewer’s levels of intelligence or critique and so an uncritical mind will more easily swallow the rubbish being served than a critical one. examples - the Black Bottle advert would have us believe that we were sailing around in sail ships fighting off pirates in a world without lawyers a mere 100 years ago, which is an absurd misrepresentation of histroical facts. Or how about Windhoek’s awful ‘recruitement test’ advert. Surely they can’t have a staff shortage problem if that’s the test! The less critical viewer is unlikely to find fault with these adverts whereas the more critical viewer may well spurn the product altogether. In my book a good [beer] advert tempts the viewer to want to try the product and consider a preference swop.
I drink Windhoek light by the way, because it’s very light (2.5%), tastes reasonable, allows me to drink slowly and stay legally sober, and still ride a motorcycle safely after 2 or even 3 beers on the rare occasions that I do drink.
The Critical Cynic on November 18th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Zamalek is the beer for getting trashed, Windhoek lager for when i have to drive and have to limit myself to three. Heineken i enjoy as a light breakfast beer; but best of all is Windhoek draught… I was originally a Lion Ale drinker and when Castle murdered my beer i chose never to drink it: as an act of protest… I take no notice of the advertising… As it says on my tee shirt Nothing can force me to drink… I am a volunteer.
The only slogan I remember that is connected to beer is the ‘black labour, white guilt’ rip off of the black label logo used on T shirts made by Laugh It Off. I personally prefer black label because it tastes good and is relatively cheap. Advertising does not really come into it. I love the Heineken ad with the guys going ga ga over a cellar of beer, but that is not going to make me switch. Castle tastes like cat piss. It’s no wonder people don’t drink it anymore.
Heineken drinker since Castle went crap years ago. I hardly watch tv and generally ignore billboards so adverts mean nothing to me. Castle light and Budweisser? This is what I spew out in the bathroom after I recycle my Heinekens.
Yes, Windhoek Light!!!
By the way, I did not know that Sarah could get a doctorate for writing about beer…
Remember the great Durban-based brew Cstle Ale discontinued many years ago?? I used to “import it” to Johannesburg.
You must also try the immensely refreshing Munich-based wheat beers, especially with the yeast still in it, by Paulaner? It is generally available in Joburg.
Castle is a mans beer! Black label is sweet and is silly young students drink the stuff but everyone settles for Castle in the end. Hansa Marzen Gold and Windhoek draught are ok but you can keep all the other stuff especially the black.
One day my mom brought home a samples of different beers and we each one Black Label,Hansa Pilsner, Castle Draught, Castle Lite, Windhoek Draught etc.
Hansa Pilsner was the only one I could stomach…
I don’t drink beer as a result just vodka laced cocktails please
I’ve been wondering of late if Castle is giving up market share. The man I live with (last bastion of Castledom) has started buying me those four packs of Peroni on occasion…and drinking them. Eish. He only drank Castle before because ‘it’s kind of bitter like English beer, the rest taste crap’.
Beer advertising really annoys me. The only ones I like are Windhoek and Heini - both of which taste pretty neutral and I’ll drink occasionally. I hate the Peroni ads and I probably wouldn’t be seen dead in public drinking one because of that poser rep, but they work for me, two bottles on chill night while I’m watching TV or whatever. Millers is water, Castle gives off headache fumes, Black Label has irritated me with those ‘this is a man beer’ ads (they’re way more man-esque than the originals and twice as offensive), Hansa is headache central…Amstel works for me but I prefer the other, slightly less yeast-tasting things.
So what does my choice of beer say? I’m vacuous and don’t like to chew on beer, I want to drink it. Drink pretty much what I want except for the negative perceptions I have about ads, that might swing me off something but is unlikely to make me switch TO a beer…
You make the assumption that South Africans drink “beer” when nothing could be further from the truth. The closest thing to “beer” we have here is Windhoek, and even that is pretty dreadful stuff. The drivel SAB serves up is cold carbonated horse piepie. The only mildly drinkable beer (without the inverted commas) we have in SA, is Amstel, which SAB managed to butcher before they lost the license!
Beer, my friends, are NOT the mass-market crap available in SA. In a country where Stella is seen as a Premium brand – you know you are in trouble! I’d LOVE to make available the hundreds of beers available. The magnificent Belgian Trappists and Lambics, the sublime German Bamberg Rauchbeer, the easy-drinking and flavourful Dutch White beers, the stunning American Microbreweries’ boutique products…
Once you have had the pleasure of sampling the best beer in the world (My log-book stands at over 500 varietals) you want to weep when the local restaurant menu has “Castle, Hansa, Black label” listed under beer and “Peroni, Windhoek” labelled under “imports”.
And don’t get me evens tarted on HOW we drink beer here. Straight outta the bottle without tasting a thing, and IF we pour into a glass, we make sure not to get a millimetre of foam on top. What a waste.
One day when I’m big, I’m gonna open a beer boutique where guys like me can REALLY indulge in good quality REAL beer.
I am a Heineken drinker. I’ve gotten so used to it. I must admit I was a beer whore for a while until I settled on heineken but only bc I like the beer. However, I also like its ads. The only drink I will never drink bc of the ad is Castle light (the Vanilla Ice Ice baby ad) I hate that music and the beer tastes like pee.
You are right about the ‘image’ factor. It amuses me that many people who drink ‘upmarket’ ie expensive beers - Heineken, Stella etc - are not drinking it for the taste. As a serious beer lover who has tried many many different beers, I love giving people blind taste tests - especially people from Europe who really know their beers. The joke is that 9 times out of 10 the best beer in blind tests is …wait for it…CASTLE. What a surprise that the downmarket beer that snooty pretentious pubs in Cape Town refuse to serve (which really annoys me) is, based purely on taste and nothing else, the old 80’s standby. Those who drink for image only should drink Millers or Corona or some other cat piss…..and impress everybody with how cool they are…
I think that beer is more of an occasional drink than it is a drink of preference.
I, for example love almost all beers and I can do with a cold castle as much as I can do with a cold black label, however later I end up drinking brandy, because brandy is my preference. But it depends on which market you focus on and I believe the more socially energetic and middle to higher class market will switch to spirits after a few cold ones.
As for advertising, I believe the humour in the windhoek ads are great but I do not like the taste of windhoek. The black label ads focus on the industrial “hard working man” wiping sweat and cracking a cold one in their overalls which seems a lot more fitting to the image of beer than a guy sitting in a bar with a suit.
Fully agree with Louis and Hugh’s comments. I drink Windhoek Lager because of the taste. Quite a good reason! Beer ads are entertaining but nothing more than that; it has never persuaded me to switch drinks.
I’m a big sports fan and most will associate Castle Lager with that, yet I don’t like the taste so 50 Castle ads won’t make any difference.
Ironically, in the Windhoek Lager ad where Gossett says “We don’t drink pink drinks Dave”, my first thought was… what’s in the pink drink since it was initially preferred? Could re-use the ad for whatever the pink drink was as well.
I have always liked Hansa, in the early days it was known as a “gay” beer, but all the same I liked the not sweet crisp taste, but in those days it was a no brainer, Castle was THE popular beer and Hansa THE queer beer, but to those with an open mind Hansa was the coldest beer in any bar because no one ever drank it. Thats precisely why I drank it - it was always cold! Now somehow most of the country agrees with me??? My second choice, Black Label, third Peroni….I dont care. I like the taste in that order. And to those Budweiser fans, good luck to you, Bud will taste like a proper beer just for the world cup, then it will go back to that USA dishwater/windscreen wiper type taste they all lurve there, all with nearly no alcohol, but that doesnt even do for perfume these days either.
I’m surprised you didn’t comment on the variety of beers available here in Australia. The amount of choice is almost confounding. You can even buy brewers’ kits in the supermarket.
When I lived in I used to drink Windhoek because it was the only readily available beer in SA that didn’t taste recycled. My Australian friend said he found a beer importer in a small town and tried Castle, and asked me if it was made from seawater.
I’m a real simple lady, Heineken and Windhoek only because both are made of only barley, hops and water. Not really a fan of the rest as they have maize and I have this thing that beer with maize is not real beer…that’s just me.
Yesterday scientists in the USA revealed that beer contains small traces of female hormones. To prove their theory they fed 100 men 12 pints of beer and observed that 100% of them lost all sense of reasoning, started talking nonsense, and couldn”t drive
By the way Castle Lager is my bEEr of choice and this will remain so till my last days on earth (Bar any medical conditions related to the consumption of Castle Lager)…
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Sarah Britten has written three books on South African insults. During the day she is a communication strategist in the ad industry; by night she writes books and blog entries. It helps to have insomnia.
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I have never known anyone to switch beer brand due to advertising. I thing the Windhoek ads are amusing, but then I am a Windhoek drinker.
I switched to Windhoek many years ago due to the excellent taste of their Light, and found good tastes in their Draft and Lager
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