To celebrate the launch of its limited release Belgian Pale Ale, Tasmanian brewery Moo Brew has recruited the palest Belgian male in Australia to be the face of its new campaign.
However, the brewery now admits the idea was rather ill-advised.
“Yes, Belgium is a richly diverse, multicultural nation, but for our Belgian Pale Ale rhyme to work we needed to somehow find a pale Belgian male,” said Moo Brew Marketing Manager, Tim Dudgeon. “Jens was the best we could find.”
Sourced from overseas (the mainland), local Belgian Jens Jacobs was selected to act as brand ambassador.
“I actually haven’t lived in Belgium for quite a while now, but Moo Brew said they’d make it work with Photoshop,” said Jacobs.
When he arrived in Hobart looking a little more St Kilda and a little less sun deprived than hoped, an important decision was made by the Moo Brew marketing team.
“Look, we just had to make do with the talent available,” said Dudgeon. “So we put him on a trawler in double underpants and clogs in the centre of Hobart, but it just didn’t seem to work. You really can’t predict these things.”
With a campaign of Belgian Pale Male posters, coasters and social media set to roll out, it’s certainly a trip Jens won’t soon forget.
And while the marketing may be questionable, Dudgeon says the beer pretty good.
“None of us at Moo Brew are exactly fluent in Flemish,” he noted, “but I’m pretty confident Jens enjoyed the beer. And it sounded like he was totally fine with us bleaching his eyebrows for the launch, too.”
The Belgian Pale Ale is light-bodied, finishes dry and presents with a bright copper colour. A delicately textured malt background balances the Belgian yeast tartness and snappy hop bitterness.
Moo Brew’s Belgian Pale Ale is available online and in select retailers and venues in Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and Queensland for a limited time only.
