A Willy Wonka-like action will cost a Scottish brewer dearly. BrewDog promised that fifty solid gold beer cans worth hundreds of thousands of euros were hidden in the parcels. The winners only found gold-plated cans. Then they went to court, after which they still received substantial compensation.
Brewdog CEO James Watt says he has set aside half a million pounds (about €565,000) for a deal with treasure hunters.
Watt was the one who spread the lie via LinkedIn that the cans were made of solid gold. “I was under the impression that it really was,” he explains in a conversation with The Guardian.
According to the British advertising watchdog, a solid gold beer can is worth around €410,000. Some treasure hunters have taken the company to court over this misguided action. He proved them right. BrewDog needs to prevent such “disappointing” giveaways in the future.
It didn’t stop there. The company has been massively dragged through the mud on social media. So Watt put on the penitent. “I confess that the action was misleading and unfair. I should have been more careful.”
Watt was willing to transfer 2.5 years of salary to the treasure hunters. He gave the winners the chance to exchange their cans for the value estimated by BrewDog: around 17,000 euros. It cost him more than 565,000 euros. BrewDog’s CEO will now own forty of the fifty cans.
