Earn Your Beer?

It may be appropriate for many of your readers but it has no cache, eh? And some of us could care less about beer. Earning your turns, from whence the tagline is derived, is about the satisfaction that comes from pursuing and accomplishing an adventure. This the Adventure Sports Journal. You need something that ties in with the Adventure word…like Well Done Adventure, or Adventure Done Well – earned, burned, simmered and turned.

Don’t drink beer! How about “earn your bevvy”. The beeros can drink beer, the winos wine, water is good (but boring).

When I first saw it, I liked it, I chuckled. But now that you push me to actually think about it, it probably isn’t a good magazine tagline for all the reasons raised by the other commenters.

How about something more action oriented to encourge readers to get out there?
– Get Out There
– Get After It
– Just Do It (oh wait… think that has been used by someone else?)
– No Excuses
– Carpe Diem
– Adventures are Waiting
– What Did You Do Today?

It is a lazy, unprofessional, cheesy, nonsensical tag-line. As other readers have suggested it is easier to come up with more suitable lines. Binge drinking is a big problem on college campuses (refer This American Life podcast). No one is going to become an alcoholic because of this line, but you are still promoting and being part of an alcohol-friendly culture that negatively affects teens. In fact some people turn to sports and adventure to get over their alcohol addiction.

Beer is good. No randal, no problem.

I have to agree with the comments here and the letter posted from a reader in the latest magazine regarding this topic. I also appreciate the thorough response letter from the editor. I’ve been reading your magazine for about a year now and truly enjoy it. Funny how I’ve always felt a little irked when I would see that “Earn your beer” slogan. I’ve been a runner for over eight years, a sporadic skier and a casual bike rider looking to get into more adventurous territory. Never been much of a drinker but will enjoy a pint of hefen wiezen or a glass of pinot grigio or a cosmopolitan on occasion. It’s never something I think of having at the end of training…my reward is enjoying the beautiful outdoors, that adrenaline rush, accomplishing my goals and getting fit. Having enjoyed skiing this past season helped me understand that many people indeed celebrate by socializing and drinking after a long day at the slopes. However, alcohol is great for those that can control the intake. Some can’t and I personally know people who love the sports your magazine writes about but are dealing with substance abuse issues or are recovering alcoholics. I really don’t think this is an issue of being “PC” but as someone else mentioned, being all inclusive and leaving the unnecessary out. Also, I feel it lends a cheap quality. I’m positive you guys can come up with better. I’ve already seen a few here…

As your magazine does such a great job of conveying, being active in the outdoors is about so much more than “earning your beer”. I think the tagline should be changed to one that represents the deeper motivations and rewards that come with outdoor adventure, physical and psychological challenge and contact with nature. Thanks for asking!

Geez, only in California could “earn your beer” be deemed offensive and get people so worked up. It’s little light-hearted humor, people. There are better things to get agitated about.

A better question to ask is: Who is your audience? And is this the audience your advertisers want to reach?

Based upon the design, copy and images appearing in the 60+ ads in your June/July issue, your advertisers seem to be appealing to a wider range of adventure-oriented adults rather than a narrower niche of 20-something beer fans.

I think your title says it all but if you really want to have a tagline, then it should focus on the overall benefits of the publication. I use it as a resource for information and upcoming events.

Keep up the good work!

If ‘you want to change the tag line my best saying is”Offness is it’s own reword” As you can see no matter what you are doing it’s own reword just happens because it’s fun.A beer after makes it even better.

As a former contributor to ASJ (Leave Your Pajamas at Home – March, 2010), a long time reader, and a life long adventure sports enthusiast, I was disappointed by the tagline “earn your beer” long before I decided to weigh in on it.

Apparently the recent survey shows that 1/3 of the reader body disapproves of the tagline. From a circulation perspective, given that the remaining 2/3 of the population probably wouldn’t care if there was a tagline or not, I find it hard to figure why there is a debate about it at all. As a small-business owner, if I found that something I was doing was alienating 1/3 of my client base in someway, and the other 2/3 would remain happy either way, I would change that thing I were doing immediately!

Now, I am a beer drinker…an enthusiast even. Yes, a beer after a ride is great, but so is…food, or water, or a shower. But there is so much emphasis on beer in adventure sports that it seems almost ludicrous. After seeing so many people handing out Pabst cans at cyclocross races, wearing beer sponsored kits, welding bottle openers onto their custom frames and now Oskar Blues Brewing Co. opening a frame building company called Reeb–beer spelled backwards–I can’t help think, “Ok! We get it, you like beer!” It’s enough to make me avoid a beer after a ride.

One other reason this tagline seems a strange choice for a publication seeking a broad population is that not everyone drinks. This tagline could be as off-putting as “earn your burger” would be to a vegetarian.

The main reason the tagline bothers me: Kids. What about kids reading the journal and trying to feed their enthusiasm for surfing, riding, kayaking and climbing, but basically being told right at the onset, “Adventure Sports = Drinking”. Not such a wise choice. If anyone thinks kids aren’t reading this journal, think again.

So, with all that, I still don’t see why there is a debate over this issue. If the tagline is raising so much noise, get rid of it! Why does ASJ need a tagline anyway? Adventure Sports Journal pretty much sums it up. Taglines, as many people have mentioned, run the risk of cheapening the publication.

But in the spirit of good times, if there is to be a tagline for ASJ, why not from here on out run a different tagline every issue that rhymes with “earn your beer” like “burn your rear” or “turn your gear”. Have some fun with it. That way a few years down the road we can all laugh about it over a beer.

Please don’t let the sans joy and soul PC Police dictate a change to the tagline; a bit of free spirited irreverence and humor go a long way in an increasingly buttoned down and wound up world. Great magazine!

Gus Provost
Reno, Nevada

“Earn Your Beer” says it all. Give in to the PC crowd and they will eventually want to run your magazine. Earn my respect and stand your ground.

Change your tag line, I change my mag, and I don’t drink any more.