a user posted photo on Reddit revealed the latest Bud Light slogan as 'The perfect beer for removing "No" from your vocabulary for the night'. Photo: Forest Woodward

If you've had occasion to use the internet any time over the past ten years, you've probably come across the long standing email forward that showcases some of the more brazen examples of sexism in vintage advertising. From the man who spanks his wife for not purchasing Chase & Sanborn coffee to the Pitney Bowles ad which asks if it's always illegal to kill a woman, these images allow us to cast our gaze back over the past and chortle knowingly about how much has changed.

But despite the fact it's no longer acceptable to write copy that states, "We all know a woman's place is in the home, cooking a man a delicious meal", have things really progressed all that much? Advertising still relies heavily on the objectification of bodies (mostly those belonging to women) in order to sell products we don't need and/or can't afford. The reinforcement of gender stereotypes remains rife, with everything from fashion houses to automobile manufacturers and even fast food outlets playing on ideas about what roles are reserved for men and women. Is it the notable lack of gender representation that results in such asinine marketing campaigns, or are corporate wonks just suffering from a major case of the ning-nongs?

Ladies and gents, it's a little from column A and a little from column B.


The latest mass fail to emerge from the marketing world has come via Anheuser-Busch, the producers of Bud Light beer. For the past two years, the company has been running a social media campaign using the hashtag #UpForWhatever. During this time, various slogans have found their way onto the bottles to accompany the hashtag, with most slipping right by the radar of those tiresome fun police (aka, the people who object to repulsive sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia and pretty much every other ism or phobia that makes a mockery of anyone who isn't white and male).

But this week, a user posted photo on Reddit revealed the latest Bud Light slogan as 'The perfect beer for removing "No" from your vocabulary for the night'. The internet immediately went into overdrive, and Anheuser-Busch into lockdown. Writer Andrea Grimes tweeted, "I'll be physically unable to process any sentiment that involves trying to convince me Bud Light didn't know it was making a rape joke there", while user John Overholt called it "the official beer of rape culture".

Bud Light campaign tells drunk people to remove 'No' from their vocab. http://t.co/MjStI3B1rq pic.twitter.com/HKo43zwZ7i — Mashable (@mashable) April 28, 2015

Questions are being asked now of how such an appalling lapse in judgment can have happened in a company with more than 150,000 employees. Surely someone - anyone - along the chain of command must have had some queasy tummy feelings about this one, and not just because Bud Light tastes like carbonated cat wee? As Fortune's website pointed out, there's only one woman in senior management over at AB Inbev, the parent company of Anheuser-Busch, and only one woman on its board of directors. Is it plausible to suggest that a greater emphasis on gender equal representation might result in a company that could make the most basic of links between alcohol consumption, victim blaming and rape culture? I'm going to go with yes on that one.

The Bud Light brand Vice President, Alexander Lambrecht, has said in a statement, "It's clear that this particular message missed the mark, and we regret it. We would never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behavior. As a result, we have immediately ceased production of this message on all bottles."

As far as apologies go, it fits neatly into the category of 'Whoopsie! Our bad guys! Forgive and forget, hey?' Which is to say, not really an apology at all. But what's truly astonishing is how one of the most well known beer companies in America could have missed the countless memos reminding people that sexual assault is no longer a punchline or a light hearted joke. It's estimated that a person is sexually assaulted every 107 seconds in America, making this kind of ignorant attempt to sell beer even more of a headdesk moment. Even worse is that this isn't even the first time Bud Light has been sent to the naughty corner for suggesting women's bodies are some kind of prize for lucky Bud Light drinkers to fool around with - just last month on St. Patrick's day, the company was criticised for urging its Twitter followers to "pinch people who aren't #UpForWhatever", alongside a photograph of women partying.

Look, I like to enjoy a drink or seven. And the social lubrication that alcohol offers does make me 'up for' more than I might be if I stayed completely sober - but that usually means things like talking to people at a party instead of hiding in the bathroom, or inventing new and elaborate kinds of toasted cheese sandwich. It doesn't mean eliminating the word 'no' from my vocabulary or having anyone else do it for me.

In the end, I guess the only difference between today's advertising and that of yesteryear is that when we laugh at gross retrosexism, we can do it in real time. Which is good for those of us who like to make cheap jokes out of expensive ad campaigns, but not so good for the people losing money and credibility on them. But hey, relax - I'm still up for it if you are.