There’s no such thing as beer without women. You heard it right. Women were among the first beer brewers in history, and yet, the beer industry has alienated the very people who helped create it for years. How, you may ask? Years of ads dividing women as consumers and objectifying them in their ads.
Miller Lite’s Bad $#!T to Good S#!T campaign is a new initiative acknowledging women during Women’s History Month, by turning old, sexist beer advertising into compost, and then, fertilizer for female farmers and brewers.
They’re literally turning the age-old, objectifying beer ads (aka bad $#!T) into good $#!T. And, giving female hop farmers and brewers a solid nod in the process.
“This Women’s History Month, Miller Lite wanted to recognize that without women, there would be no beer,” said Elizabeth Hitch, senior director of marketing for Miller Lite. “To honor this we wanted to acknowledge the missteps in representation of women in beer advertising by cleaning up not just our $#!T, but the whole industry’s $#!T while benefiting the future of women and beer.”
Here’s how they’re going to do it:
- Collect the Bad $#!T: Miller Lite has been collecting their (and all of the beer industry’s) outdated, age-old, no-thank-you sexist ads, displays and posters for months. Hundreds of pieces have already been bought and removed from the internet.
- Convert the Bad $#!T into Good $#!T: They’re turning it all into fertilizer that will then be used to help female hops farmers grow over 1,000 pounds of hops.
- Create More Good $#!T: All of the hops grown will be donated to over 200 female brewers. Miller Lite estimates that the hops grown will produce about 330,000 beers.
Miller Lite will also be donating five times the amount it spends to buy back their sexist ads to the Pink Boots Society to support women in advancing their careers through brewing education.
“Women are amazing and infinitely creative. I know women have been erased from building many industries from the ground up, and yet I was still surprised to learn that they were among the first beer brewers in history,” said Ilana Glazer. “After years of treating women like objects, the beer industry has an opportunity to shed more light on just how powerful women’s contribution has been. I’m inspired Miller Lite created the space for this reflection, and I’m proud to play a part in repping this step in the right direction. We really made some good $#!T together!”
The Bad $#!T to Good $#!T campaign was spearheaded by an all-female leadership team and continues the company’s work to celebrate women in brewing.
