Naughty Nurse is offensive

The Filthy Librarian

 

My take is that the name is a satire of a long outdated stereotype.

The only 2 nurses I know personally live in UT, where I was before coming to VT (a bigger change than the abbreviations suggest). They take care of late stage cancer patients at the Children's Hospital. That's dedication I'm not capable of imagining. It's my belief they would be put off, not quite offended, by Ms. Ekwurtzel's comments and would love to have a few bottles of Naughty Nurse if they could get them... they used to be a little naughty themselves when off duty but have mostly settled down (though one got her pass pulled last winter for skiing out of bounds).

 

Amen to that - oh wait some one will get offended at that. thanks for succinctly stating what should be and isnt obvious to everyone. I really want to bump into you some place at a bar and buy you a pint.

 

The Courant is one of the most widely read papers in the state, it could give this kind of nonsense enough traction to force CitySteam's (their new name post law suit) hand. They just finished dealing with Anchor brewing's suit over their brewery name so they're probably not in the mood for any controversy.

It's actually named after a male nurse friend of the head brewer whose nickname was "the naughty nurse."

 

Can't believe this whole being offended thing is actually a thing. What a waste of time. Everything has the potential to be offensive. I'm gonna name a beer "Taco." I'm half Spanish so I can do that I guess???

 

T.A.C.O - Taking Away Creativity is Offensive I think I need some sleep.

 

Mmmmmmmm... Taaaacos

 

And it gets worse for poor nurses. I wonder how many are offended by the existence of Nurse sharks. I mean, how more offensive can it get, nurse is a shark?! Talk about public image.

 

My wife is a nurse. When I sent her a picture of a bottle she thought it was cute and asked me to buy it for her.

Having said that, personally I find City Steam's beer names and images, its attempt-to-be-subtle references to sexual innuendos - Naughty Nurse, Blonde on Blonde, Innocence... - to be cheesy and tacky. I actually find any innuendo like that on a label to be tacky.

P.S. I also wouldn't be shocked if this is just a clever PR campaign.

 

Ok, here's the solution. Avoid the cutesy (often viewed as misogynistic) coyness and subtly. Just call it "Hop-head Wank-label Beer". Turn that Naughty Nurse around and turn her naked back into a naked full frontal. (You may need to add pasties and G-string to get past the Fed labeling laws.) Now it’s transparent what your marketing guru is up to. No one is offended, because it obviously a simple-minded marketing ploy to market to the simple minded. And everyone can focus on the fact that the beer is crap.

 

That's not really what free speech means. That aside, I agree people are quick to get offended these days.

 

Holy tap-dancing Hayzuss! I read that letter above and thought "Ha ha, now that's hilarious. What a perfect parody of the Gandhi kerfluffle!" I can't believe some of you guys are reading her complaint as serious.

 

Hard to believe, but that would be my kind of naughty nurse!!!

 

my wife's a nurse, and she could care less about a beer being called "Naughty Nurse", thinks its cute.

There are plenty of young nurses and they like to party, since being a nurse is a very diffucult and stressful job. If a brewery wants to cater to this underserved market, I offer a suggestion. Name a beer: "under-paid Nurse". The label would feature an average looking female nurse standing over a bed with a doctor yelling at her from behind! Don't get me wrong, nurses are by no means poor, but considering what they do and their responsibility they are....

 

Mebbe Troegs could rename Nugget Nectar "Nurse Ratched Red"? - strong a bitter

 

My wife is a nurse, and I work with nurses every day. My informal poll reveals that none of them are offended by the label.

 

fallacious argument: her profession does not suffer, as there is no harm caused by the label


is it a tacky label, well yeah I'd say so

 

You sound like fun....a real barrel of laughs!

 

Clearly she's never been to the brewpub ... Naughty Nurse has been around for a LONG time before the label, and graced my CS mug often at lunchtime. Get a sense of humor, and unless you wear a white uniform with the funny hat, don't worry about it.

Personally I think Ron should change the image to one of the old St Francis Nun-Nurses ...

 

Calling all brewers!! With all due respect to some individuals' delicate sensitivities, this kind OP has done exactly what you hoped for in providing you some free marketing exposure...here are a few other professions with similar histories, stigmas, or other insecurities that might make a good name for your next brew. To my knowledge, similar to the respected, necessary, and now well-paid nursing profession, these professions have similar stigmas that are well-known through popular music and culture, that could be similarly "bastardized" on a beer label in order to create the shock value so desired by today's consumers and producers in the interest of selling another nickel's worth of product.

Librarians - "Librarian" by My Morning Jacket is a beautiful song and brings up similar issues as nursing - I'm sure there are plenty of beers that could have this stigma and stereotype on their labels.

Flight Attendants - "Waitress in the Sky" by The Replacements is the first song that comes to mind - there is endless potential here ranging from the traditional stewardess stereotype that has existed almost as long as we've been flying, not to mention that derogatory stereotypes for flight attendants today, similar to nurses, are not just limited to one gender.

Given brewers' search for brand identity - Hill Farmstead comes to mind with their beers named after people, usually past and present family members, and Three Floyds, Clown Shoes, and a multitude of others through their artistry / fantasy storyline combinations - why doesn't some new brewer go whole hog and create a brand identity based on naming beers after professions? You know, bankers and lawyers have already been mentioned in this thread - career-related naming conventions could have huge potential - hell, you can start with Uncle Sam's SIC codes and go from there! (just make sure you've allocated a line item in your profit / loss statement for "legal expenses"...!).

Oh, and last thing, does anyone know if any particular demographic or special interest group has ever raised a stink about Foothill's Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout? If nothing's been said about this one, then those who take offense at Naughty Nurse really don't have much to stand on.