Josef Meier's hits back at Jägermeister's 'Get Tough' campaign

Published: 17 October, 2011

Herbal liqueur brand, Josef Meier's, has hit back at Jägermeister's 'Get Tough' campaign announcing itself as a a credible and recognised UK brand in its own right.

Jägermeister's "Get Tough" campaign began in August after a number of bars in the Midlands were found to have passed off other brands as its product.

To put a halt to any "passing off" confusion Josef Meier's is to encourage more communication within the outlets it supplies, through point of sale and staff training, to ensure it is not passed off as the German spirit.

Josef Meier's, offers the on-trade an alternative to Jägermeister, as well as other brands in the category.

But the company states that although 'substitution and passing off is highly illegal and cannot be condoned in this industry or any other', it also reminds its customers that offering an alternative in any on-trade outlet is totally legal and all down to the right to choose.

Rob Preston, managing director of Josef Meier's, said: "We are offering customers an alternative product, which we are proud of and we want to raise awareness of the brand, so apart from it being highly illegal, it's not in our interest for our brand to be mis-sold.

"We have written to our customers to ensure they have the point of sale and signage to promote Josef Meier's.

"We suggest that they use the term 'Josef Bomb' where Josef Meier's is used to prevent any further miscommunication.

"Staff training and briefing sheets for on-trade customers will also be supplied."

He added: "Jägermeister's campaign over passing off and substitution is fair enough, but we don't want our customers to be scared or feel bullied into changing their range overnight because of it.

"We can just help them communicate better."

Josef Meier's is also considering a further challenge to Jägermeister's trademark for the term 'J-Bomb', on the grounds that it is too generic to be limited exclusively to Jägermeister.

"In the world of drinks, a 'bomb' is a generic term used to describe the dropping of a shot of one drink into a glass of another drink.

"This is certainly not exclusive to Jägermeister and in our opinion trademarking the J-Bomb would only create further confusion for customers.

"We will be looking to for help from the trade to build a strong case," he said.

'Passing off' means serving another, often cheaper or inferior, brand from the one asked for by a customer.

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