What's the Shtick with "Chosen" Brands?
by Asher Levine
brandchannel.com
December 18, 2006
If you think "Jewish brands" comprise only producers of matzo, gefilte fish, and yarmulkes, then you'd be surprised to learn about a growing number of brands evoking Jewish culture that combine old-world tradition with new-world chutzpah.
It's a Saturday evening at Mo Pitkin's, a bar on New York City's Lower East Side, and sharp-dressed hipsters are filing in to catch the comedy show about to begin upstairs. At the bar, a young, animated blonde sits down to chat with a friend. Tonight, instead of asking for the usual domestic brew, she selects a brand of beer with a red and gold label featuring a caricature of a smiling rabbi, and a name that is more likely to elicit thoughts of a Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem than a wild party high in the Rockies.
"I just think it's kind of funny and fun," she says. "It's more interesting than getting the standard Bud Light or Stella."
It is called HE'BREW ‹ The Chosen Beer ‹ and it is the brainchild of a San Francisco microbrewer named Jeremy Cowan. "I just thought it was time for the American Jews to have their own beer," says Cowan, whose Schmaltz Brewing Company started producing the stuff 10 years ago. Originally intended to be given away as Hanukkah presents to friends, the beer has since caught on, and is now distributed across the country in places ranging from the corner bodega to Whole Foods Markets.
Cowan attributes HE'BREW's growing popularity primarily to its quality, but acknowledges that the unique brand identity is what usually draws consumers to the product in the first place. "I try to infuse a lot of Jewish content into the brand itself," he says. "But the fun for me is through playing with the tension between secular American humor and more serious Jewish content, and trying to combine those two into being both substantial as well as unique, irreverent, and playful."
HE'BREW is just one of a number of brands, along with others such as Heeb magazine and Jewish Fashion Conspiracy apparel, that have built a brand identity around a particularly tongue-in-cheek celebration of Jewish culture. And culture is the key word. These products have about as much to do with the Torah as a plate of pork chops. Rather, they revel in a long-standing tradition of humor and irreverence that has long drawn fans from "outside the tribe." "The use of humor in Jewish life is so universal, but in addition, Jewish humor is such a part of American culture," says Cowan, who points to names like Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, and Mel Brooks. "I think it's part of a great, rich tradition."
At the very forefront of the effort to uphold that tradition is Heeb, a quarterly publication that brands itself as the "New Jew Review." According to its editor-in-chief, Josh Neuman, its mission is to "challenge mainstream conceptions of Jewish identity and test the boundaries between Jewish and popular culture." It delivers on this promise by mixing typical magazine content, such as interviews and music reviews, with features like "Schwartz of the Month," a recurring online poll where readers choose between two people surnamed Schwartz who are profiled by the magazine. The fashion section in the most recent issue is set in a creepy, seemingly abandoned Catskills hotel, part "The Shining," part "Psycho," where the walls suddenly drip with blood‹or wait, is that...borscht?
The Heeb sensibility has also proved attractive to some advertisers. The magazine once ran a fictitious ad for Streit's matzo that featured a black man peering intently at the product. The headline read: "Damn! That's a big-ass cracker!" Streit's liked the ad so much that they agreed to pay for it to run in future issues. Says Neuman, "We act as a quasi ad agency and infuse old Jewish brands with a modern spirit. We are able to give them a real connection with a particular psycho-demographic." Whether or not other dusty old Jewish brands like Manischewitz and Rokeach are next in line to "Heebify" remains to be seen, but in the eyes of Neuman, they should consider it if they want to stay relevant.
Interestingly, Heeb has also shown itself to be relevant to the non-Jewish world. According to Heeb's readership survey, 10 percent of its readers are non-Jews. Neuman believes they are most likely partners of Jews, "Honorary Heebs," or philo-Semites (those with an interest in Jewish culture)‹or just enjoy the magazine.
That's not to say that all those who are Jewish like the magazine. As with anything that touches upon ethnic or religious identities and stereotypes, there are bound to be those with concerns. Recalls Neuman, "Before we even launched the magazine the Anti-Defamation League declared that the project was 'offensive, counterproductive, and infantile.' " The ADL declined to comment on whether it maintains that stand today.
Sarah Lefton, whose Jewish Fashion Conspiracy clothing line sells t-shirts imprinted with slogans such as "Jews for [New York Yankees shortstop Derek] Jeter" and "Bris Me, I'm Jewish," has also dealt with her share of critics. "I do get occasional hate mail, usually from people who are either very religious or just very self-righteous," she says. "They think that my products are somehow offensive or‹my favorite‹self-hating. Most of them seem pretty surprised when I write them back and sound coherent, smart, and religiously well-educated."
Like Neuman and Cowan, Lefton has seen a number of non-Jews asking for her products. "At fairs, I would guess that two-thirds of the people who buy my stuff aren't Jewish themselves," she says. "They may just like the product or could be buying for a Jewish friend."
Without the luxury of meeting each customer, it's impossible to determine for sure what percentage of the consumers of Jewish brands are non-Jews, but judging from the sales figures, it would be safe to assume that the appeal is by no means negligible. He'Brew has sold a couple of million bottles and is distributed in 20 states in the US. Jewish Fashion Conspiracy has sold thousands of shirts (enough for Lefton to quit her previous job), and Heeb's circulation has topped 30,000.
Owners of Jewish brands believe that much like the success of movies such as Fiddler on the Roof or Yentl, the demand from the non-Jewish world for their products and content is not going to die down anytime soon. Says Schmaltz's Cowan, "There are a lot of people who get a kick out of Jewish shtick."