Does the world need a dark beer emoji? The brewers at Guinness think so, and are urging dark beer enthusiasts to join them in a campaign to convince Unicode (the powers that be in emoji-land) to add a stout emoji to phone keyboards everywhere. In the quest to achieve that goal, the company published this open letter last week:
To Dark Beer Lovers of the World,
As long as humans have been brewing, there has been dark beer—from the ancient Egyptians to Ireland’s Arthur Guinness to America’s craft brewers.
Today we enjoy more stouts, porters, and dark ales than at any time in human history. And in this age of technological innovation, we have more ways than ever to share our experience with others.
But when it comes to communicating with tiny icons, we’re limited to two pale beer emoji.
We know that you, dark beer lovers of the world, have noticed. We don’t live in a one-beer
world, and we deserve more than a one-beer keyboard.
That’s why we’ve submitted a proposal to the Unicode Consortium, the organization responsible for emoji, asking them to release a dark beer emoji—or Stoutmoji, if you will.
One question on the submission form caught our attention: “Is the expected level of usage likely to continue into the future, or would it just be a fad?”
A 5,000-year-old tradition is not a fad. At Guinness alone, we’ve been brewing dark beer
for more than 250 years—and we’re not slowing down.
It’s time to bring more beer to the emoji keyboard. And you, the dark beer lover, can help
make it happen.
Simply tweet this message:
I want more beer variety on my keyboard. Add a #DarkBeer emoji, @Unicode. #Stoutmoji
By showing the powers-that-be we’re serious, we can bring Stoutmoji to the world’s keyboards. There’s no time to waste … St. Patrick’s Day is almost here.
Sincerely,
The Brewers of Guinness
This could be your keyboard. Seriously. Join the fight for #Stoutmojihttps://t.co/k7NllzgxvSpic.twitter.com/Yp6dC0tiZB
— Guinness US (@GuinnessUS) March 12, 2016
It looks like a few dark beer lovers have already started tweeting their support. Important to note if you do join the cause: Unicode only approves new emojis at certain times of year. Once approved, those emojis can then take months or even years to actually make it to your phone. That means it might be St. Patrick’s Day 2017 (or longer) before you can send your BFF that #stoutmoji.