Brewer says 'not beersies' campaign unfair

A brewer says beer is being unfairly targeted in a new alcohol harm campaign, Radio New Zealand reports.

In the latest phase of the Health Promotion Agency's “Say Yeah Nah” campaign, its advertisements suggest people swap alcohol for water in a bid to stop the harm caused by binge drinking. The agency said the “Not Beersies” ads aimed to stem social pressure to hit the bottle.

However, the owner of Three Boys' Brewery in Christchurch, Ralph Bungard, said it did not make sense to target beer when consumption was falling.

“Beer's generally around 4 or 5 per cent and it's low sugar, and actually has quite a good nutrient content. As an alcoholic beverage it's quite a responsible social drink.

“The ‘Not Beersies’ campaign is targeting perhaps the most socially responsible drink in the industry.”

Beer producers were also objecting to the campaign's bus stop posters - specifically one stating that all women preferred men without beer guts.

Society of Beer Advocates president David Wood said it was sexist and offensive. “It's suggesting that women are so shallow that they would only find people without a belly attractive," he said.

Wood said it was also perpetuating the myth of the beer belly, which was really caused by consuming too many calories from any source.

The Health Promotion Agency said it used “beersies” to describe all alcohol, and the bus stop poster was meant to be light-hearted.