Coopers Brewery Limited, the largest Australian-owned brewery, thought it was a brilliant idea to collaborate with the Bible Society on a campaign "to reach even more Australians with God's word."
The non-profit organisation is celebrating its 200th birthday, and its slogan is to "Live light," according to The Guardian. In honour of this special event, Coopers released 10,000 cases of limited edition Coopers Premium Light beers, and each one contains a different Bible verse.
The Bible Society explained on its website that the Keeping it Light campaign is an effort to foster a respectful "national conversation," especially now that society is "fraught with shallowness and contempt for those who have a differing opinion."
"From yelling matches on ABC's Q&A to screed on Twitter, we just don't seem to be able to talk any more," the group explained. "To speak into this, Bible Society Australia has teamed up with Coopers Premium Light to ask Australians to try 'Keeping it Light' – a creative campaign to reach even more Australians with God's word."
Coopers also released a video featuring Liberal MPs Tim Wilson and Andrew Hastie talking about the issue of same-sex marriage while drinking Coopers Premium light beers. They were able to "disagree most agreeably" over the right of gay Australians' to wed.
After the video was released, Coopers Brewery bore the brunt of the public's ire, since several bars have decided to stop carrying their products.
The Old Bar in Fitzroy, Melbourne, wrote a statement on Facebook saying that it would no longer purchase beer from Coopers. "It's a sad day for us as over the many years we have built a strong relationship, yet after recent events it is very obvious that our values are at odds," the statement read.
The Hollywood Hotel in Surry Hills, Sydney, also wrote on Facebook that it would be "reassessing its relationship" with Coopers in light of its Bible Society partnership.
When sought for comment, Coopers Brewery said the video was "a light-hearted but balanced debate about an important topic within Australia."
"As a mature community, it's a debate we need to have but in a good spirited and good natured way. That's how we've done business for 154 years," they explained, adding that they are in no way forcing "to push religious messages or change your beliefs."
However, in a second statement, Coopers Brewery decided to place some distance with the Bible Society. "We want you to know that Coopers did not give permission for our Premium Light beer to feature in, or 'sponsor' the Bible Society's 'Keeping it Light' video featuring Andrew Hastie and Tim Wilson," the company said.
