Johnnie Walker rolls out female-branded ‘Jane Walker’

Could this be the new “Lady Doritos”? Johnnie Walker whisky will be rolling out a female-branded version of their famous scotch in March.

The newly-named “Jane Walker,” will feature a top hat-wearing woman with long dark hair on the special-edition bottles of the brand’s Black Label. According to Bloomberg, brand owner Diageo Plc is attempting to widen the appeal of their product “while celebrating women.”

The rollout of the female-faced whisky in March coincides with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. For every one of the 250,000 Jane Walker bottles sold nationwide, $1 will be donated to organizations that promote women such as Monumental Women and She Should Run.

“As a brand that has stood for progress for nearly 200 years, Johnnie Walker is proud to take this next step forward by introducing Jane Walker as another symbol of the brand’s commitment to progress,” the brand explained in a press release.

Johnnie Walker Vice President Stephanie Jacoby told Bloomberg, “Scotch as a category is seen as particularly intimidating by women. It’s a really exciting opportunity to invite women into the brand.”

However, many women find the re-branding effort patronizing as opposed to inviting. Social media has already started ripping the campaign to shreds.

“Scotch is seen as intimidating by women” IS IT? you know those facebook aunties who mainline wine? i don’t buy that they are intimidated by anything at all, leave alone coloured spicy water,” tweeted Priya_ebooks.

https://twitter.com/priya_ebooks/status/968415906823983104

“PSA to brands,” wrote Maree Jones. “Unless it’s a product intended to be used ONLY by women (i.e. menstrual products), STOP making products “for her”: #JaneWalker #BicForHer #LadyDoritos”

https://twitter.com/mareejones/status/968243526524907520

“It has a lower ABV to represent the wage gap,” joked Twitter user @Choplogik

https://twitter.com/Choplogik/status/968416749715517440

The brand has since reached out to The Daily Meal to relay this information:

“We want to be very clear that this is not a new product made just for women. The whisky in the Jane Walker Edition is our signature Johnnie Walker Black Label blend, the core marque of our Johnnie Walker brand. Black Label represents the pinnacle of our more than 200 years of blending expertise and is an award-winning whisky enjoyed around the world by a diverse community of whisky enthusiasts, including men and women.”

“We are proud to champion the effort to bring more female icons to the forefront of culture starting with our own brand and the introduction of the first-ever female iteration of the brand’s iconic Striding Man logo. The Jane Walker icon is not just for Women’s History Month but is a permanent addition to our brand iconography and will endure alongside the Striding Man as a symbol of progress and gender parity.”

Supporting female-run companies is no joke, so spend your 77 cents to the dollar wisely. These 10 food companies were founded by women, and may be a good place to start.

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