Recently, I was told that PBR, my beer of choice, has some super-shady labor practices. Apparently Pabst Brewing Co snatched up a bunch of struggling breweries and runs them in a way that would make Upton Sinclair roll in his grave. Determined to squelch any erroneous rumors, I turned to the Googles.
While I couldn't find anything on labor practices at Pabst Brewing Co, I did come across multiple articles on the Pabst marketing scheme. Most of the articles focus on how Pabst rose from near ruins to become the fastest growing beer in the top-50 domestic market. Pabst pulled this off by focusing on the counter-culture.
An article in the New York Times Magazine wrote: "P.B.R.'s embrace by punks, skaters and bike messengers make it a political, ''social protest'' brand. These ''lifestyle as dissent'' or ''consumption as protest'' constituencies are about freedom and rejecting middle-class mores, and ''P.B.R. is seen as a symbol and fellow dissenter.'' Eventually all of this sounds like satire, but the punch line is that it isn't really that far off from P.B.R.'s strategy. "
I must say I totally embrace the idea of "consumption as protest" but when I become the target of a marketing scheme I feel like somewhat of a drunk cliche.
All of this brings to mind Anne Elizabeth Moore's "Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, And The Erosion Of Integrity". "Unmarketable" examines what happens when cultural resistance becomes just another marketing platform.
So, what now? Do I finish the last few beers in my fridge and turn to local breweries to assuage my insatiable desire for cheap, domestic beers? Do I give up on beer altogether? Or do I just give up on my labor-loving, anti-corporate, idealistic ways?
While I couldn't find anything on labor practices at Pabst Brewing Co, I did come across multiple articles on the Pabst marketing scheme. Most of the articles focus on how Pabst rose from near ruins to become the fastest growing beer in the top-50 domestic market. Pabst pulled this off by focusing on the counter-culture.
An article in the New York Times Magazine wrote: "P.B.R.'s embrace by punks, skaters and bike messengers make it a political, ''social protest'' brand. These ''lifestyle as dissent'' or ''consumption as protest'' constituencies are about freedom and rejecting middle-class mores, and ''P.B.R. is seen as a symbol and fellow dissenter.'' Eventually all of this sounds like satire, but the punch line is that it isn't really that far off from P.B.R.'s strategy. "
I must say I totally embrace the idea of "consumption as protest" but when I become the target of a marketing scheme I feel like somewhat of a drunk cliche.
All of this brings to mind Anne Elizabeth Moore's "Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, And The Erosion Of Integrity". "Unmarketable" examines what happens when cultural resistance becomes just another marketing platform.
So, what now? Do I finish the last few beers in my fridge and turn to local breweries to assuage my insatiable desire for cheap, domestic beers? Do I give up on beer altogether? Or do I just give up on my labor-loving, anti-corporate, idealistic ways?
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