The Real Reason Beer Companies Are Going Woke

The puns were flowing like wine, or rather, beer, on social media last week when Miller Lite went viral for an ad campaign that blasted its own brand for “sexism.”

Source: The Real Reason Beer Companies Are Going Woke - Foundation for Economic Education

The idea that corporations have stakeholders that have no bearing on the actual business is incredibly stupid. Sure, corporations should not actively harm others and should be held accountable when they do, but that there should be, for example, "inclusivity" standards beyond hiring whoever is most qualified and advertising towards those most likely to buy your product makes no sense whatsoever.

Personally, I don't want companies preaching to me about how I should act. The first example of this that I remember getting on my nerves was when Gillette spent its advertising budget telling me not to beat my wife. I am not a violent person and have never struck a woman (or a man for that matter) and haven't been in a fight since I was around 13 or 14. But advertisers that want to condescendingly instruct me on not beating my wife make me want to punch them in the face. I haven't bought anything from Gillette since.

What Bush and Miller are doing by attempting to pander to certain groups for "inclusivity" reason feels much the same. They are doing this primarily to appease organizations that grades corporations subjectively on "social performance". So-called ESG or "environmental, social and corporate governance" groups. At some point, companies are going to have to decide whether selling a product to consumers that want it is more important than an artificial social score that appears to be based partly on lecturing your customers.

There is (or used to be ) an expression: "sex sells". Now it appears that sex is just sexist. At least that is the message that Miller is now giving us.