With today being ANZAC day (Lest we forget), I thought it timely to write my thoughts on the ‘Raise a glass‘ campaign from Australia’s brewery stalwart, VB. The campaign is supporting the RSL and Legacy – two very deserving and important organisations.

There has been a bit of conjecture with this campaign. The controversy seems to lie in that a beer company is leveraging a day, which traditionally has been untouchable.

ANZAC day is truly one of the last institutions to have an unwritten rule that it is not to be messed with nor taken advantage of. Retail outlets in Australia are banned from opening before 11am in most states, and here in Victoria, the powers are talking about closing pubs and clubs just before dawn, to preserve the day.

Don’t get me wrong I do truly value the history and legacy of ANZAC day. I honor the diggers in their efforts and remember that our freedom and prosperity largely lies with the men and women who have defended our democracy here and overseas. The sight of diminishing numbers of heroes in their uniforms each year marching to remember tinges me with sadness, however, I remember that in years to come, another generation of soldiers and defense veterans will start to march.

As a child, I remember being taken to the RSL by my grandfather to witness the rituals of remembrance. They would play Two-Up, listen with their eyes closed and their hands on their hearts to the playing of the Last Post and I would listen and watch this with little understanding of the meaning. Each year as I grew older, I would learn more and more about the meaning. About the stories my grandfather’s mates told, but never from my grandfather. I would take more and more in, mostly the fact it seemed to be a day where the old men with many a deep line etched in their faces, would drink many a beer together as one.

Now, I am older and I understand the meaning of the day. I understand the need for remembrance and mostly I understand the need for community and social connectedness from these men. Alcohol, whether it is right or wrong, is a part of this ritual.

So for VB to create a CRM campaign for ANZAC day, the synergies and justification seem obvious. The diggers drink beer for goodness sake. The organisations such as Legacy and the RSLs need money to further support these veterans and to ensure the legacy goes on. Why would they not partner with a beer that has been brewing in this country apparently since the 1890′s?

The Raise a glass campaign is “developed by Legacy Coordinating Council and the RSL National Executive and the in partnership with VB, the Raise A Glass Appeal aims to contribute more than $1 million to support serving and ex-service men and women, fallen veterans and their families.” Legacy certainly isn’t shying away from the association and the benefits from the partnership.

The argument seems to be that we as a Nation have a binge-drinking problem, that we shouldn’t be promoting alcohol in today’s day and age… ANZAC day has already become a disgraceful excuse for pub-crawling, alcohol-fuelled excess by the younger generation.

Trevor Cook questions the ANZAC day association of VB as unethical. If this partnership is unethical, where indeed is the line? What do we as a society rebuke at or congratulate? Why is a campaign driven by a beer to raise money and awareness for veterans who traditionally have a beer together on this day, not ethical? Why then is the McDonalds sponsorship of NSW rising young footballers ethical when we are struggling with an obesity epidemic? In fact, why is the Nation’s biggest sporting league, the AFL, sponsored by no less than three gambling brands?

If we are going to cry out in outrage to the VB Raise a glass campaign, citing the fact that it is ‘shock, horror’ an alcohol company taking advantage of a National treasure, then let’s get some consistency.

The question of corporate sponsorship and promotion across all facets of our lives is an important one. There are two sides of the coin:

1. Corporate sponsorship is incredibly important to nonprofits who are struggling with reduced government assistance and indeed individual giving rates are on the decline. So corporate sponsorship is often a key financial component to the sustainability of these nonprofits.
2. Corporates who peddle alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, fast food, pharmaceuticals etc etc are, unethical. We don’t applaud their marketing tactics to increase market share and consumption of their products for the good of their shareholders. We don’t applaud the promotion of addictive and socially destructive products such as alcohol and gambling.

However, people smoke. People gamble and people drink. People take pills for everything and fast food in the GFC is the biggest performer in terms of profitability.

Yes the reduction of promotion of these products (cigarettes, alcohol, gambling) is essential in harm minimisation and plays a key role in the health promotion policies of governments and agencies. So too does increasing taxes, reducing accessibility and educating people about the risks.

But, until alcohol and cigarettes and fast food and gambling are illegal in this country, we cannot stop these partnerships such as the VB Raise a glass for Legacy and RSL. We must stop crying foul and stop our hypocrisy as we yell in outrage on one hand and drink a tinny and smoke a Dunhill in the other.

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