Our buds at Budweiser are at it again. Not content to leave its first round of unlicked wounds from last year alone, Anheuser- Busch InBev was once again throwing punches in Super Bowl 50 and picking up where last year’s anti- craft beer Super Bowl Advertising left off.
In Super Bowl XLIX last year, Budweiser emphasized that its beer was “Brewed the Hard Way.” The company poked fun at craft beer drinkers and proclaimed they would “let them sip their pumpkin peach ale”, while they, the macro brew drinkers of the world, would continue to pound can after can of Budweiser, the beer supposedly brewed the American way.
This year, Budwesier is back at it once again, telling us that beer is “Not a Fruit Cup” , “Not Sipped”, and that the company responsible for brewing a high percentage of the beer consumed nationally is “Not Backing Down.” The jab is a little softer this time around but is no less a load of total crap; a hypocritical claim that illustrates a company in a state of market share free- fall and pending desperation.
The first thing about such advertising that bothers me is that the products are not really comparable. It takes me back to an incredibly stupid advertising campaign that Miller ran many years ago. The ad made the proclamation that beer should stop “acting like wine”. It was, of course, a jab at the craft beer industry and it made absolutely no sense. In essence, Miller was saying that flavorful products weren’t really beer and that the bland, watery, tasteless swill brewed by Miller was the only true beer. Miller realized the stupidity of this advertisement and withdrew it from television after a short run.
It’s common for advertisers to take pot shots at the competition, but what Big Brew is doing might be unprecedented. Yes, Pepsi has tried to promote itself as a tastier alternative to Coca- Cola and Cadillac has attempted to woo drivers of Lincolns. But the difference is that, with these advertisements, the products are of comparable quality. They are playing on a level field where one product is about equal to the other with only slight differences of distinction. There is no such comparison with beer. As much as Anheuser- Busch InBev would like you to believe, there is absolutely no comparison between, say, Budweiser and Founders Centennial Ale. Trying to compare the two would be like Red Roof Inn comparing itself to Ritz Carlton or McDonald’s restaurants comparing itself to The Cheesecake Factory. These products might operate in the same industry, but they are in completely different leagues and their management teams are smart enough to recognize this fact. The marketing departments at Red Roof Inn and McDonald’s would be laughed out of town if they attempted such nonsense. Yet Anheuser- Busch InBev doesn’t recognize the folly of its claims.
Another issue I have with the new advertisement is its utter hypocrisy. Here we have a company that serves us Bud Light with Lime and Michelob Ultra Fruit Lime Cactus and it has the gall to criticize other beers for tasting like a fruit cup? In addition, Anheuser- Busch added to its burgeoning reputation for hypocritical actions by running a Super Bowl advertisement for its own Shock Top product line, a family of beers that TASTE LIKE FRUIT!!
It’s hypocrisy at its lamest.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Anheuser- Busch InBev is quickly snatching up these small craft breweries. You know- these places that make beer they claim isn’t intended for “real men” and that is often sipped. And is Anheuser- Busch InBev even based in the USA? No, the company is headquartered in Belgium.
Anheuser- Busch InBev spends a great deal of money on Super Bowl advertisements. This years’ television commercial isn’t like the attempted knock- out power punch delivered in last year’s Super Bowl ad with its now infamous “pumpkin peach ale” tag line. The attack this time was more like a light jab to the body, a manuever that is easier to fend off and requires less immediate attention. Nevertheless, it’s a clear sign of desperation and complete and total hypocrisy on the part of Anheuser- Busch In Bev; a company in continuous decline and a business willing to try anything to regain its prominence.
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