Johnnie Walker has announced it’s going to produce a limited edition Black Label line of Scotch whisky with a new “Jane Walker” logo in an attempt promote equality, and far more realistically, try to get more women to drink the company’s booze. Jane has just as much style as Johnnie — in fact they wear nearly identical outfits — and all we have to say about this new logo is the future is female! Or maybe the future is barrel aged? Or how about robot? Anyway, people are going to be drinking a lot more whisky.
Introducing Jane Walker, our new icon that celebrates progress in Women’s Rights. With every step, we all move forward. pic.twitter.com/1YP32odgJk
— Johnnie Walker (@JohnnieWalkerUS) February 26, 2018
News of Jane W. (via Time), comes on the heels of campaigns by a handful of other corporations rebranding their classic mascots as female — ya’ll know that KFC’s Colonel Sanders is a woman now, yeah? The Jane Walker-branded Black Label line — which will contain Johnnie Walker’s normal Black Label whisky without any alterations to the recipe — will be produced up to 250,000 bottles, with a dollar from the sale of each $34 bottle going to aid organizations that promote women, such as Monumental Women and She Should Run.
via Giphy
Stephanie Jacoby, a VP at Johnnie Walker, noted in an interview that “Scotch as a category is seen as particularly intimidating by women.” She added, “It’s a really exciting opportunity to invite women into the brand.”
Responses from the internet have been, expectedly, quite mixed, with some folks praising Johnnie Walker for the move, and others finding it to be unnecessary or even condescending.
At least I can, in theory, see why someone would want to spice up their life with a purple pen. I cannot figure out why people would want to drink more Johnnie Walker because a woman had been put on the label.
— Julia O’Donoghue (@JSODonoghue) February 27, 2018
😑 obviously a man created this. Let’s be SO equal we need a specific bottle. How are people this stupid. HOW? #JaneWalker #ThingsICantAccept https://t.co/geTatCYppV
— Ashley K. Wilt (@AshleyK1515) February 27, 2018
Diageo is supporting gender equality by creating a version of Johnnie Walker named #JaneWalker.
Totally love this. #JaneWalker #GenderEquality pic.twitter.com/LQsGWCD1Mp
— K. (@abeiku_dadson) February 27, 2018
You’ll be able to spot Jane Walker on shelves across the U.S. in March. If you’re gearing up for some Jane drinks, try making these beautiful whisky cocktails below:
See recipe.
See recipe.
See recipe.
Images: Johnnie Walker
