CAMRA launches campaign to encourage women to drink real ale
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has unveiled a new campaign aimed at attracting more female drinkers to the real ale category.
The initiative, which centres on a "Goddess of Beer" called Ninkasi, is due to be launched today (August 6) at the start of the organisation's Great British Beer Festival in London.
It features a modern version of the 4000-year-old Sumerian Goddess of Beer, who is said to have brewed her own beer.
She will feature at the festival on a 60 foot banner and life-sized cut-outs as well as making a 'live' appearance. This will be supported by posters, beermats and leaflets in thousands of pubs across the country.
The campaign was launched as a result of research by the consumer organisation which found that brewers had failed to attract female drinkers to the category.
The research revealed that:
- over a fifth (22 per cent) of women don't drink real cask ale because it isn't promoted to them
- 17 per cent of women think real ale is 'old fashioned'
- 29 per cent of women don't try it because their friends don't drink it
- 17 per cent of women think it will make them fat
- only 23 per cent of women have tried real ale in a pub
- 19 per cent of women would try real cask ale if it were served in more stylish and fashionable glasses.
Mike Benner, head of campaigns and communications at CAMRA, said: "We think real British beer is something to be proud of and it should be marketed to women as well as men. "Our research shows that many women don't try it because it isn't promoted to them. Almost all of the advertising we see on our TV screens for beer is too laddish, too lager-based and a real turn-off for women. Ninkasi, the new Goddess of British beer is here to change all that and sets a new precedent for marketing a great product."
