Irreverent gifts for Valentine's - beer for bags

MANILA, Philippines - Distinctively practical and notoriously irreverent Australian bag company Crumpler has a brilliant idea: exchanging beer for bags! For one week only — from Feb. 21 to 26, bring a specified amount of beer and token items to the Crumpler Bonifacio High Street store and they will exchange it for a specific Crumpler bag. And then on Feb. 27, to make sure all that beer is put to good use, Crumpler is throwing a fun-fueled party at Warehouse 135. Doesn’t that sound like the best deal since Jack exchanged his poor old cow for those magic beans?

The brainchild of Dave Roper, Will Miller, and Stuart Crumpler, three former bicycle messengers, Crumpler is a bag company that offers a range of bags that reflect the founders themselves: fun and reliably rugged. Its international headquarters is based in Melbourne, Australia. Crumpler began as a messenger bag company, but has since expanded its range, notably into laptop bags, camera bags, and more recently into bags on wheels, a.k.a. luggage. They are christened with cheeky names like The Moderate Embarrassment or The Complete Seed. The colorful and hardy laptop, camera, and messenger bags have gained a cult following for folks with active, non-poser lifestyles.

“Beer for Bags” is not a result of strategic marketing sessions, but rather, thirst. One sticky afternoon in 1997, Roper, Miller, and Stuart asked their customers to bring beer to be traded for bags. The result was a hit: The beer for bags sale has gone around the world to cities like New York and Toronto with people lining up at Crumpler stores, toting cases, kegs, and once, even a barrel of beer. Now, this phenomenally fun event has landed at the Crumpler Philippine headquarters, which will be positively inundated with beer and Crumpler fans who want to score at this great sale. After all, the price of beer used for trading represents a 40- to 50-percent discount on the full retail price of Crumpler bags.

The steps are simple. Check out the Beer for Bags leaflets, posters, or print ads at any Crumpler store, found at Bonifacio High Street, Megamall, TriNoma, and Robinsons Ermita. Determine which bag you want and how much beer and other silly token items you need to bring for barter. Go to the Crumpler Bonifacio High Street Store anytime between Feb. 21 and 26 with the specified items. There is no limit to the number of bags you can get, as long as there are enough stocks and you bring the right amount of items required for each bag. For every bag you get, you get one ticket to the party on Feb. 27 at Warehouse 135. There are loads of extra fun stuff like on-the-spot games and cool merchandise from Crumpler.

Here’s a quick guide to the Beer for Bags barter:

• THE THIRSTY AL — 10 cans San Mig Light + 10 cans Oettinger Super Forte

• THE BUNDLE  — 10 cans San Miguel Pale Pilsen + 12 cans Kirin

• THE CHUMPY — 10 cans San Miguel Super Dry + 10 cans Heineken + five large packs of Lapids Chicharon

• THE HEADAITCH — 12 cans San Mig Light + 12 bottles Erdinger Beer + three bottles of Tabasco

• THE MAURICE — 12 cans Coors Light + 12 cans San Mig Light + 12 bottles Cerveza Negra

• THE QUARFIE — 12 cans Coors Light + 12 cans San Mig Light + 12 bottles Cerveza Negra

• THE BARNEY RUSTLE — 24 cans San Miguel Pale Pilsen + 24 bottles Corona + two bottles of Barbecue auce + three three big bags of Doritos

• THE COMPLETE SEED -- 24 cans San Miguel Pale Pilsen + 24 bottles Corona + two bottles of Barbecue Sauce + three (3) big bags Cheetos