This Bud’s – er, America’s – for you
It’s certainly not unusual for brands trying to sell more units to wrap themselves in the American flag. This is particularly true during the summer months when Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day. Now comes news that the maker of Budweiser will replace the brand’s name on its 12-oz. cans and bottles with the word “America”.
The renaming is part of Bud’s “America is in your hands” summer-long campaign, which will also include phrases from the Pledge of Allegiance as well as lyrics from “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” on its packaging.
The idea behind the campaign is to remind Americans of the optimism that has made our nation great. The new packaging will hit store shelves on May 23 and will remain there until the presidential election in November. Bud will debut a new national television commercial beginning on June 1.
“We are embarking on what should be the most patriotic summer that this generation has ever seen, with Copa America Centenario being held on U.S. soil for the first time, Team USA competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Ricardo Marques, vice president, Budweiser, in a statement.
An article on The Atlantic site by Derek Thompson said that, while it may be simple to label Bud’s America effort as “simultaneously funny, cynical, knowing, and absurd,” the brand is trying to take advantage of an opportunity identified in research showing how patriotism spikes higher during periods when big international sporting events are taking place.
It’s hard to say what the reaction will be to the America version of Bud. I’ll admit that my initial reaction to the report was that an Onion article found its way to a straight news site.
Writer and Bud drinker Mark Wilson wrote for Fast Company, “I feel like I’m drinking an artifact bound for a Michael Moore documentary — something that’s enjoyable when consumed in an ironic way, with a sort of Stephen Colbert, Team America, Mission Accomplished bravado.”
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Will Bud’s name change to “America” be a success or failure? Do you think Anheuser-Busch InBev has a marketing exit plan if the temporary rebranding causes an adverse reaction?
Poll
BrainTrust
Paula Rosenblum
Co-founder, RSR Research
Al McClain
Co-Founder, RetailWire
I think they’re making a bad mistake. It doesn’t take deep analysis to find out Bud isn’t owned by an American company anymore, and hasn’t been for some time.
Get ready for the jokes, memes and anger now!
No matter what label Anheuser-Busch puts on the can, the beer inside is still the same, and it’s not what many Americans prefer to drink, so I don’t see it moving the needle much. Budweiser, and all of the other traditional brands with the possible exception of Pabst, are experiencing sales declines, as consumers tilt towards craft brews. Marketing is not going to solve this problem.
Smart marketing move. Hey, Bud drinkers are America. It is the core beer of the core of America. Drink Bud with PRIDE! Fight for the right for a Bud!
They have probably researched it enough to be pretty sure they’ll get a decent ROI out of this. The connection between patriotism, “America” and InBev, which is not an American company, remains fuzzy to me. It is probably much more clear to the target audience. Bottom line: anything for a buck.
My instinct is that this will be very successful. Bud drinkers appear to skew toward a red-blooded, patriotic psychographic. I expect the new packaging to draw attention in the beer aisle which will translate into incremental sales.
This is bizarre!
Well … depends on how you measure success. It’s gotten them a lot of free publicity. Why they are even getting covered on RetailWire!
I hope they do have an exit plan … maybe a “Fall came early this year” strategy.
A brand is a promise and any and all products and services carrying that brand are artifacts of that promise.
What says “America” better than being owned by a Belgian-based conglomerate bent on world domination through acquisition who dispatched a third of its U.S. workforce to cut costs and improve margins on the backs of its employees?
Wait … maybe that is America after all.
The only reason I didn’t say a big failure is because I don’t think those who are die-hard Bud drinkers will switch because of it. Quite frankly, I don’t think a lot of Americans are feeling particularly patriotic with the insanity going on with the presidential election and with everything going on in Brazil I’m not sure that the Olympics aren’t going to be a fiasco. Nothing I’d want to hang my hat on.
Although I guess if it gets people talking there is no such thing as bad publicity.
It has gotten some focus on the Budweiser brand which, hopefully, is a step in their well thought-out, long-term campaign. Watch for SABMiller to follow suit with USA High Life.
My initial reaction was “bizarre,” not brilliant. If consumers know about this stunt and they aren’t inclined to buy Bud anyway, I don’t see how it helps to wrap the brand in the flag.
And here in Miller Country (also known as Milwaukee), it really won’t move the needle. Good luck finding “America” beer at Miller Park this summer.
I don’t know the brand’s objective.
However, with a powerful trend of craft beers, Bud is decidedly left out. So for those who don’t quaff craft beers, a summer patriotic can might increase share.
In certain settings, I am regularly amazed at young men who spontaneously cheer “USA, USA.” Certainly those lads will buy a few tins. Maybe it will be popular among the GOP and fans of its standard bearer. Does AB need to increase share in Cleveland or states won by Trump?
It is odd, now that Bud is owned by Inbev, a Belgian company, that it would adopt such a literal patriotic execution. Maybe it wanted to gloss over that pesky detail.
InBev is making a big mistake. Bud is not owned by an American company. People buy Bud, not America. They have probably assumed this will be successful and have not thought about an exit plan, but it is time to start.
I’m in the “this is crazy” camp. Sure Bud drinkers will enjoy the novelty for awhile, but if I’m not a Bud drinker, am I going to buy it because it says America on the label? Quite the opposite.
I see a lot of fallout on this one. Jokes, bashes, etc. Hey if any kind of publicity counts as publicity then okay, but they don’t get my 2 cents for this one.
Simple answer — FAILURE. For all of the reasons stated above. They can change the label but if they don’t change what is in the can it still the same product.
You can dress a pig up to look like a cow. But all you have is a dressed up pig.
Bud drinkers will stay Bud drinkers, despite or in solidarity with this promotion. I don’t forecast a lot of brand switching by others. I do forecast a lot of parody — which may translate into some free publicity on the late night talk shows. Hey, any PR is good PR, right, Mr. Trump?
I just saw a Snicker’s bar that didn’t have the word “Snickers” on it — it said “Snooty” instead, but I knew it was Snickers. I’m sure you’ve seen those too. Is that working? Because if it is, that gives this similar idea some credence. In any case, I SEVERELY doubt that the loyal Bud customer will have a problem with an obvious can of Bud being called “America.” A Brooklyn hipster? Not so much.
Definitely an ad agency trend. I think we should re-name Gap too. Let’s call it “Cheap.” See how that works — it might help.
What a refreshing idea! The can is easily identifiable brand no matter what the label says. It will attract the people who are voting for Donald Trump, not an insignificant number of people.
It will attract those down-to-earth people who believe in “America.” (Fits right in with Making America great again). The timing is excellent with events that feature America. I didn’t realize that Anheuser-Busch was no longer American owned, but then neither will the majority of people that will buy it and drink it.
Unless there’s backlash in other countries where many people don’t like America and wouldn’t want to be identified as having anything to do with a label that says “America.”
As I said, I think it’s a refreshing idea, and I have a feeling it’s going to be successful. I hope we go back and look at this when it’s over and see who was right.
Will it taste any better? At least they won’t sue themselves for trademark infringement….
I think the marketing team better have an exit plan.
1. Failure.
2. Not for the SM or Twitter Madness! Honesty, Twitter interaction is so fast, literally millions go in seconds, I think it could make or break em!
Given Bud’s customer demographics I think it will do fine. It is a nice novelty item and I am pretty sure they have backup plan if it doesn’t work out … I bet they will get some parody out of it on Saturday Night Live or comic strips for it too.
I’m not so sure if Craft beer is the reason for the decline of the Budweiser brand as much as the price point. Yes, craft beer has its niche, but the rise of light beers at a specific price point is eating the market up right now.
If Bud brand wants to eat into the craft market then make a craft beer with Bud brand name.