Parasol Island – Integrated Digital Studio

In the USA, major brands are supporting an online tipping campaign to benefit restaurant service staff.

The US is famous for its strong tipping culture, as anyone who’s visited a New York bar will have seen – and felt. Now the pandemic has shut down bars and restaurants all over the country, out-of-work staff are missing gratuity payments as well as their wages. Responding to this plight, the United States Bartenders’ Guild has initiated a campaign to support those affected, under the tagline “Help us serve those who serve you.” In practice the USBG’s National Charity Foundation has set up a fund – or “virtual tip jar” – to help serving staff during the crisis. This has prompted a pile-on from wellknown drinks brands, keen to show their community credentials and gain some goodwill as well as exposure.

One of the leading US beer brands Miller Lite has thrown in $1 million dollars, tweeting “taps are off. But tips are needed.” Guinness US have also given a quarter of a million dollars to the USBG’s fund. Aviation Gin is another brand to pour in. Though its amount of $15,000 is coins compared to Miller Lite’s, Aviation has pledged to additionally donate 30% of the price of each bottle of gin sold through its major national partners until May 1, thereby tying its charitable actions to a sales push. The gin brand’s recognisable owner, US-Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, tweeted the campaign with the hashtag #TipYourBartenders to his more than 15 million followers.