“Be a man.” That is the primary slogan of Birell, a beer company which came to the Egyptian markets in 1986 providing non-alcoholic beer, which has been running “man up” advertisement campaigns since as early as 2009. What does ‘manning up’ entail? In one advertisement, the customer is told to forget about “what colour is the dress” and focus on the woman who is wearing it. In a country where 99 percent of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment, the advertisement appears to promote cat-calling, staring and maybe more. The latest campaigns have even attracted the wrath of social media users who have accused Birell of sexism and the promotion of sexual harassment. Birell’s ad campaign is so disgusting and it makes me want to burn their company down ☺ — Noha. (@nohapls) March 25, 2015 Birell Egypt using #thedress to promote sexual harassment pic.twitter.com/MPfqq9CHvg — Sarah Naguib (@Sarahngb) March 24, 2015 Yet, is this merely an oversight by the non-alcoholic beer company? According to its company overview, Birell has a strong and bitter taste that can “only be handled by men.” Self-titled “Birellman” on Facebook, the company promotes…
The Beer Company Promoting Sexism and Sexual Harassment in Egypt
March 27, 2015
