Peel-Off Nude Beer Brews Controversy
Brea - Drink Nude. That's Don Havard's motto.
Havard, president of Naked Brew Inc., is effervescent about his alcoholic beverage. Nude Beer features a peel-off label that reveals a buxom, bare-breasted model. It's sold in about 60 stores in Southern California and Nevada. Some retailers say the provocative beer label makes for bawdy conversation. Others say Nude Beer is brewing for a fight with feminists. Nude Beer was first released by Irvine, Calif.-based Golden Beverage Co. in 1986, sold in 20 states, and banned in Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina and New York for being "indecent" and "obscene."
The novelty beer was short-lived, and Golden Beverage relinquished its trademark rights in 1991. The original Nude Beer featured a bikini-clad model whose breasts were bared by scratching off a thin latex film that served as her bikini top. The idea was ahead of its time, but the beer tasted bad and the label was problem-laden, Havard said. The scratch-off label sometimes wouldn't work if it got wet. Today's Nude Beer, released for sale late in 2002, sports a new brew recipe and problem-free label.
Havard's first batch was sold in four-packs and featured eight different models. The latest series features six models and is sold in a six-pack with a suggested retail price of about $8, but there is no guarantee that all six models will be revealed in every pack. The idea, he said, is to continually release new models. "Our goal is to have four series each year. We're not there yet," Havard said. Not everyone is thrilled with the beer's peel-away label. "It's incredibly puerile," said Christine Gailey, chairwoman of University of California Riverside's women's studies department. "It's yet another way in which the consumption of alcohol and the consumption of women's bodies get linked."
Havard, who said his target market is 21- to 30-year-olds, hopes his beverage is a hit with both men and women in that age group. He has also released a line of Nude Beer clothing that includes caps, T-shirts and women's tank tops that display his "peel to reveal" marketing slogan. Fans enjoy both the taste and the models, said Wylie Patton of Nuevo, Calif. "It's definitely got its own taste. It's real smooth," said Patton, who enjoys buying the beer for friends. "I'll buy a six-pack, and we'll sit around and say, 'Who did you get? Who did you get?' ''
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