E-Magazine
Rob Smith
In the previous issue of Enterprising Matters, in the article entitled Brewing up a Storm: Internationalization the BrewDog Way! I commented upon the marketing antics of a rising new Scottish Company, BrewDog PLC casting them in the now familiar entrepreneurial role of heroes for their clever marketing stance. However, in the preceding month they have continued to brew up a storm and have hit the headlines again with another audacious publicity stunt.
In this article, I debate the ethical dilemma – Does the end justify the means in proactive marketing? In their constant battle with a German Brewery to hold the record for the highest alcohol percentage beer the entrepreneurs Martin Dickie and James Watt brewed a 54% strength specialty beer provocatively called – “The End of History”, selling at £500 per bottle. As a publicity stunt they marketed the collectors’ beers in stuffed animals such as stoats, squirrels and a hare thus causing offence and outrage to animal rights activists and animal lovers (Bateman, 2010).
The media were divided in their coverage of whether this was clever or unacceptable marketing. In their defense, James Watt in an interview with the Capitalist claimed - “We wanted to do something a little shocking, and open people’s minds to the potential of beer,” Watt told the Capitalist - “This is fusing art, beer and taxidermy – but we obviously don’t want to kill any animals. All the animals we used were roadkill…”. Does it matter that the animals were ‘roadkill’ and that no direct harm was done to any animal? Is it entrepreneurship imitating art? Entrepreneurship like Capitalism is allegedly an amoral activity and it could be argued that this was an example of creative capitalism.
In a straw poll of family, friends and colleagues (10 people in total) the majority (8) saw nothing ethically wrong with the BrewDog stunts because they understood that they are courting free publicity. As readers you are entitled to your own opinions on the subject as to whether it was ethical, or moral. As an academic observer, I would genuinely be interested to hear from you as to whether they approve or not? Market forces prevailed and the 12 bottles of beer sold out over a two hour period. Who is right and who is wrong? Google it to find out more! I did. Look at the website www.brewdog.com and check out the “End of History” vimeo on their blog pages. The example is obviously emotive and potentially volatile but then Harman (1977: 41) in his book on morality and ethics argued that emotivism is an ideal theory for observers.
Dr Robert Smith, Reader, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Email r.smith-a@rgu.ac.uk.
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