Deep Throat beer label 'offensive and utterly unnecessary' says Ladies That Beer

By Georgina Townshend

- Last updated on GMT

'Misogynistic': Ladies That Beer has shown its outrage at Deep Throat beer label image
'Misogynistic': Ladies That Beer has shown its outrage at Deep Throat beer label image

Related tags Beer Woman Facebook

Members of beer group Ladies That Beer have slammed an Italian brewer for marketing its Deep Throat beer using a drawing of a woman with a corncob rammed down her throat on the bottle.

The group took to Twitter to vent their frustrations about the sexist label, saying it was "not acceptable" and that it was one of the "worst they had ever seen".

According to Ladies That Beer, the brew comes from an Italian brewery called Deep Beer.

“No way would we want to try this misogynistic beer!” they tweeted.

'Wrong on so many levels'

Others commented on the post with statements such as “disgusting”, “offensive”, and that the label is “wrong on so many levels”.

One tweet said: “Who'd actually want to be seen near that bottle? It's embarrassing on many levels”.

London-based beer writer Matthew Curtis praised others for "calling out the idiots" behind the beer label, which he described as a "monstrosity".

Within his tweet, he included a screen shot of a Facebook comment from Deep Beer after one person commented: "Just wondering if you think this is funny and/or appropriate. Because it isn't. It's offensive, not just to women but to everyone with any sort of moral compass."

Deep Beer responded: "The story about the label of this beer you do not know, and the meaning is far from offensive. Do you know what satire means? It's true you're English, you do not know the satire".

The Morning Advertiser​ understands Deep Beer has since deleted its Facebook page.

“Pubs and bottle shops should be safe environments for everyone, not somewhere a woman needs to fend off 'innocent' or 'jokey' imagery and comments before being served" 

-  Deborah Murphy, Ladies That Beer

Talking to The Morning Advertiser​ about the label, Ladies That Beer member Deborah Murphy said: “The beer label was was brought to our attention on Facebook, it's by an Italian brewery called Deep Beer. 

“As a member of a group that encourages inclusivity in pubs, art like this once again suggests that beer is for blokes. 

“Not only does the brewery lack the confidence to sell the beer on its own merits, they resort to tired, stale images of women's mouths being only good for one thing.”

'Dated, sexist' marketing methods

Last week an Irish brewery came under fire​ on social media amid claims its packaging and tag line for one of its beer downgraded women.

Irishtown Brewing features women on its Dublin Blonde lager and Dublin Red pale ale and its tag line for the lager said: “Dublin Blonde goes down easy".

Twitter user Ellie W claimed Irishtown Brewing was using “dated, sexist methods to market their beer."

The brewer responded on Twitter to claims and said: “We appreciated your feedback and thanks for sharing your opinion.

“Lots of people like our branding if you don’t, that’s cool too. Not sure we agree on some of your points but hey, all good….”

Pubs should be ‘safe environments’ 

About ‘sexist’ labels in general, Murphy continued: “Pubs and bottle shops should be safe environments for everyone, not somewhere a woman needs to fend off 'innocent' or 'jokey' imagery and comments before being served. 

“It's offensive and utterly unnecessary.”

By the time of publication, The Morning Advertiser​ had been unable to contact Deep Beer.

However, explaining how the name came about​, owner Francesco Di Palma told the Mirror Online​: "The name was decided because we thought of a message to send, the real message was to drink beer all over."

He continued: "If there was a man on the label, it would not change anything."

He claimed he was surprised by allegations of sexism, stating: "Here in Italy nobody ever attacked me this way, because they know me know the social aspect that I bring with me."

Mr Di Palma said a lot of his beer is produced in immigration centres, where he helps newcomers to learn a trade.

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