An Australian brewery has come under fire after its alcoholic ginger beer bottles were labelled with pictures of Hindu deities Ganesh and Lakshmi.
Indian community leaders in Australia have called for the New South Wales-based Brookvale Union Brewery to apologise and immediately withdraw the labels, which portray the combined head and body of two prominent deities of the Hindu religion.
The president of the Indian Australian Association of New South Wales Yadu Singh has called such a depiction by the brewery “disgusting”.
“The juxtaposed picture has Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha with the head of a Cow in one hand and fire coming out of the Lord Ganesha’s head,” Singh said on his blog.
He further wrote: “This is in very poor taste and obviously very cheap, besides being insensitive. This is offensive, unacceptable and objectionable.
“Using deities and symbols of Hinduism in this grossly inappropriate and offensive manner is not a matter of joke or fun.”
However, Brookvale Union Brewery said the labels were meant to depict “flair, feel and colours of the Asian continent” and that the images were not intended to cause offence, according to Sydney Morning Herald.
“The aim was to create a great-tasting drink representing the flair, feel and colours from the Asian continent, the primary source of ginger
“With recent feedback brought to our attention, we will be looking at design options for our bottles,” a spokesman for the brewery said.
This is not the first time Hindu symbols have been used inappropriately by commercial brands in Australia.
In 2011, Hindus were outraged when the image of the goddess Lakshmi was portrayed on a swimsuit at Australian Fashion Week. The company immediately pulled the item from production and apologised for any offence caused. – Rediff.com, 14 November 2013
Brookvale Union Beer addresses criticism with new design invitation – Aoife Boothroyd
Following criticism over its controversial ginger beer label, Brookvale Union has invited designers to come up with a new creative to better the current design.
The brewery copped criticism from the Hindu community over the label of its ginger beer which features juxtaposed images of Hindu deities, Ganesh and Lakshmi.
The controversial label attracted the attention of Hindu statesman and president of the Universal Society of Hinduism Rajan Zed, who said that the label was ‘highly inappropriate’, as using Hindu deities, concepts or symbols for commercial purposes is highly insensitive to the religion’s devotees.
In order to tackle the issue, Brookvale is calling out to graphic designers and budding artists to come up with a new design.
The chosen design will become part of the new branding for the Brookvale Union range, and will be featured on bottles, packaging and marketing material.
Brookvale’s brief for the new design is as follows:
- Ensure your submission aligns with the Brookvale Union brand – refer to the website, existing Apple Cider and Ginger Beer bottles and cartons, Facebook and Instagram pages for inspiration
- To the best of the designers’ knowledge, do not use imagery that may be deemed offensive
- Keep the tagline of ‘Quality Nonsense’ in mind
The company has also reiterated that it never intended to cause any offense, and has begun the process of removing the images from its website.
Submissions for the new creative will be accepted until 5pm on Sunday, 24 November. – Hospitality Magazine, 14 November 2013
» Contact the Brookvale Union Beer Company at brookvaleunion@gmail.com
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