Freestar launches petition asking for a ‘Not Drinking’ emoji

Alcohol-free beer brand Freestar has launched a campaign to call time on the drunk emoji this Dry January. If you type ‘drunk’ into your phone, you’ll be prompted to use the 🥴 emoji. If you type sober, you’ll get ‘no results’. This Dry January Freestar is asking why, if we can have a ‘Drunk Face’ emoji can’t we have a ‘Not Drinking’ emoji too? The brand has launched a petition asking for Apple and Unicode Consortium to introduce a ‘Not Drinking’ emoji which it hopes will get the attention of the emoji makers.

Freestar asked 6,000 consumers what they use to communicate the fact that they’re not drinking this Dry January. Currently the three most popular ways to communicate that you’re going alcohol free, through emojis include 🙅🍷,  🍺 🥊 and 🚫🍺 🤗.

Unlike most other alcohol-free brands, Freestar believes there’s nothing wrong with enjoying alcohol; the company just knows that almost all of the country now has a flexible approach to drinking in the same way as they do with meat and dairy options following the rise of vegan and vegetarian diets. This new tribe of ‘ABVarious’ drinkers shows the UK is moving away from binge drinking and looking for products that have a benefit on their mental health, waistline, and of course, the environment.

Freestar’s research has revealed that 1 in 3 UK adults feel more confident to order an alcohol-free drink in a bar or restaurant when they are out compared to two years ago. The research also showed that 50% of UK adults feel there is less peer pressure to drink alcohol when they are out drinking, and 35% of UK adults drink less alcohol than their parents did at their age. If our drinking habits are changing, Freestar believes our emojis should too.

Felix Von Hurter, co-founder of Freestar, said: “Just because it’s easier to text when you’re not drinking doesn’t mean you should be denied the wonders of short form expression that are emojis 😉.  Jokes aside there’s a time and a place for 🥴, but more and more these days we’re choosing to take a round, a night, a week, a month off the 🍺 and that’s 👌. And with the millions of emojis being sent every day, we think it’s time Apple reflected actual consumer behaviour a bit more. I’m not sure how many people Greco Roman wrestle 🤼 but I do know that 6.5 million people are doing Dry January this year in the UK alone!”