AB Super Bowl Ad

[ArkotRamathorn]

Budweiser is a brand, not a company. So they can make fun of silly craft beer trends and be part of a company that sells those trends. Ford makes big burly work trucks and has commercials making fun of wimpy trucks, then also sells tiny hybrid 2 door sedans that couldn't pull a suitcase.

I don't understand why everyone gets their feeling so when Budweiser makes fun of beer trends. And maybe they did it on purpose. There's no such thing as bad publicity.

Well its more that the commercial is disingenuous with their statements.

First being, they act like Budweiser is more American than the 4,000+ craft breweries in this country... Even though Budweiser is not an American owned brand.

Second and this one is more my own personal issue. They try to reinforce the insecure BMC drinkers that what they're drinking is "super manly". I guess when I can slam 10-12 BMCs and still speak coherently to me means their beer is rather wussy, I'd like to see a BMC drinker have a "fruit salad" RIS/BDSA/BW/Wee-heavy that come in at a hefty 10-14% ABV and talk about how its a fruit salad after a pint of it.

Edit: So to use your analogy, they're doing a commercial for the tiny 2 door hybrid, but talking about it as if its the massive F-350 super duty diesel can-tow-the-moon-truck. (all while 70% of the truck is being built in another country)

 

[kombat]

I always find it funny that brewing is the only industry that brags about still doing things "the old fashioned way," like they did a century ago.

You'd never see that sort of boasting from, say, a dentist.

 

[m00ps]

I always find it funny that brewing is the only industry that brags about still doing things "the old fashioned way," like they did a century ago.

You'd never see that sort of boasting from, say, a dentist.

church much?

 

[fourfarthing]

I was most offended by the fact that they ran that, and ran a Shocktop ad for the SB as well. Talk about playing both sides of the same coin.

 

[lumpher]

"Golden suds"? Tossing around their bottles that way, then opening them, they'll be getting "golden showers" when they open them. Fitting, when their product has been compared to the dog equivalent...

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

"Golden suds"? Tossing around their bottles that way, then opening them, they'll be getting "golden showers" when they open them. Fitting, when their product has been compared to the dog equivalent...

I think a golden shower would leave you less stinky than 20 minutes after getting BMC poured over your head...

 

[Johow]

I thought it was a great ad, we all know they're talkin bulls--t and anyone who drinks craft beer knows it's bulls--t but at least it featured beer this time instead of puppies and horses.
Well, mostly anyway......

 

[TheHopfather]

Bah. It's an ad targeted at Bud drinkers. With all the buzz surrounding craft beers these days its just something to make a Bud drinker feel good about their choice of beer. They are in the business of selling beer, not making craft beer drinkers feel good about themselves. It's an advertisement not investigative journalism.

Who cares?

 

[BreezyBrew]

Bah. It's an ad targeted at Bud drinkers. With all the buzz surrounding craft beers these days its just something to make a Bud drinker feel good about their choice of beer.

This, and also to poke fun at craft beer.

 

[LandoLincoln]

There's no such thing as bad publicity.

I wish people would stop saying that.

"The airbag that was installed in your GM car may send metal shrapnel into you at a velocity high enough to kill you" is bad publicity. It inspired zero people to go out and buy a GM car.

 

[Beernik]

I was most offended by the fact that they ran that, and ran a Shocktop ad for the SB as well. Talk about playing both sides of the same coin.

Shocktop: the beer that insults you while you drink it.

Truth in advertising.

 

[m00ps]

I wish people would stop saying that.

"The airbag that was installed in your GM car may send metal shrapnel into you at a velocity high enough to kill you" is bad publicity. It inspired zero people to go out and buy a GM car.

*buys mother-in-law a GM car*

 

[Billy-Klubb]

that was the best their marketing could do? they even fail at being insulting.

 

[brewcat]

That ad is very good. I liked last year's too. I'm not sure how it even alludes to craft beer...It was selling Budweiser.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

That ad is very good. I liked last year's too. I'm not sure how it even alludes to craft beer...It was selling Budweiser.

personal taste, bruva.

 

[Rev2010]

I'm not sure how it even alludes to craft beer...It was selling Budweiser.

You're not sure? It's not totally obvious?

Not a hobby (referring to homebrew as most craft breweries start from homebrewers)
Not small (craft breweries)
Not soft (most likely referring to what they consider sissy beer)
Not a fruit cup (pretty damn obvious there)
Not sipped
Not imported
Not following (also pretty obvious meaning they're sticking to their beer and not joining the craft beer revolution)

So obvious, especially with last years commercial and the last phrase they have in the commercial is "Not backing down" - an obvious reference to the backlash of last years commercial.

Honestly, I don't care, it's Bud and they just look desperate. Not my feelings getting hurt here. If anything it's laughable as it's so hypocritical on so many levels. That, and when you can't come up with a better way to sell your product then to insult those not drinking yours, then also to try and make your customers feel more secure by assuring them they're manly just comes across as super desperate and childish.


Rev.

 

[z-bob]

I thought the guy flicking the orange off the rim was funny.

They should stick with puppies and Clydesdales commercials. Puppies and babies sell even better than sex does. (I guess the sex is implied?)

 

[Rev2010]

I thought the guy flicking the orange off the rim was funny.

Yeah, I actually hate when bartenders put fruit on my glass regardless of the beer, I always tell them upfront not to. The worst is lemon since even after removing it from the glass and wiping it off if you drink from that side you still taste the sour lemon. Oh, and the pits! Haaate when a pit falls to the bottom of the glass LOL.


Rev.

 

[NickTheGreat]

It's a better ad than last year's I'll give them that!

 

[Rev2010]

It's a better ad than last year's I'll give them that!

If their marketing people were smart they'd instead have done an ad focusing on remembrance. They could've done an ad like, "Remember your first beer?" (a lot of American's first beer was a Bud), "Remember your teams winning game you celebrated with your Dad?", "Remember that snowed in Thanksgiving dinner?" crap like that would've done way better, especially for current customers - which seems to be the base they are trying to retain. None of those things apply to me, but they do apply to a good amount of people, and people connect with sentiment. So IMO, that would've been wiser than to belittle craft beer and try to insinuate Bud drinkers are somehow more manly for staying stubborn.


Rev.

 

[BrewSavage]

Far too many "NOT" messages in this year's version.

 

[Rev2010]

Far too many "NOT" messages in this year's version.

Heh, yeah though oddly they somehow neglected to include a "Not GREAT beer"


Rev.

 

[drainbamage]

deleted.

Reported.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

deleted.

I will not. now (again) I have to hear these macho arrogant flerps at work and in the bottle shops regurgitating some nonsense they heard in a commercial that bolstered their macho self awareness. I've been replying to them in a way they can understand, "I'm not a cry baby and can handle real beer." and, "STFU."

here on the other hand, I can say "Personal taste is a helluva thing." and y'all understand.

 

[Yesfan]

Technically, wasn't Adolphus Busch, Frederick Miller, and Adolf Coors "homebrewers" themselves?? I'm not offended, but I find it funny how many double standards they were throwing out in that commercial.


They, along with Miller, had some really funny commercials back in the day. I wished they would go back to that. Now they suck too, just like their beers.

 

[unionrdr]

Adolphus Bush married the daughter of Anheuser & got into the company that way. Didn't know jack squat about brewing, but had a keen business sense. Frederick miller came from a brewing family, & brought a live yeast culture to America with him.

 

[soccerdad]

Adolphus Bush married the daughter of Anheuser & got into the company that way. Didn't know jack squat about brewing, but had a keen business sense.
.

Came from a baseball family, yeah?

 

[unionrdr]

I wrote about American beer history in my second home brewing book. It's all in there. But no baseball, hehe...

 

[m00ps]

If their marketing people were smart they'd instead have done an ad focusing on remembrance. They could've done an ad like, "Remember your first beer?" (a lot of American's first beer was a Bud), "Remember your teams winning game you celebrated with your Dad?", "Remember that snowed in Thanksgiving dinner?" crap like that would've done way better, especially for current customers - which seems to be the base they are trying to retain. None of those things apply to me, but they do apply to a good amount of people, and people connect with sentiment. So IMO, that would've been wiser than to belittle craft beer and try to insinuate Bud drinkers are somehow more manly for staying stubborn.


Rev.

Remember that time when you were 17 and that bud lite was just as easy on the way back up as it was going down?

 

[mattdee1]

My knee-jerk reaction was to roll my eyes and groan at those Bud ads, but after thinking about it more, I consider it a victory for the world of beer that those ads are even deemed necessary. What those ads tell me is that AB is resigned to the fact that their outmoded flagship product has a burgeoning image problem; the days of ever-expanding market share are over, and they’re just desperately trying to cling to their existing customers.

Of all those things that the latest ad purports that Bud is “not,” I don’t see anything in that list that makes a good reason to buy the product they’re selling. Not a hobby? Not small? So what? It all reeks of an attempt to wrap a fuzzy security blanket around insecure, small-pecker dudes who need constant reassurance that they’re still tough guys and that their choices are nothing to be ashamed of. The only way to make the coddling more shameless would be to have it narrated by Stuart Smalley, and end it with his daily affirmation “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonit, people like me!”

Keep the ads coming boys! I’ll gladly take a front-row seat to watch you writhe and thrash in desperation over the next few years—this **** is funny (or, if you prefer, NOT UNFUNNY).

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, you definitely get the impression that there's some reassuring going on there. But hey, here's an idea...why not go back to the original recipe, instead of insisting we really like this crud you're selling now? Make this fizzy yellow stuff for the wommens, kiddies & sissies...make the original for the rest of us.

 

[bbohanon]

I say meh..whatever to ads like that.
Its their right to put them out there and honestly, I still know folks who brew craft beer that still drink Bud from time to time (Shaun Hill creator/owner of HFS Brewery actually said in an interview once or twice that he still enjoys Bud alot of times over his own or other craft beers).
To each his own and with the large players in the beer biz, remember..its all not personal..its just business when they run ads like these. I just choose to ignore them.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, i know. but still, that's a cold shot...

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Yeah, i know. but still, that's a cold shot...

And why do you think they went there?

Because 3 days later, people are still ruminating over it.

It is not directed at consumers to "change" their minds about the product. If anything it is directed at the consumer that is on the fence between macro beer snobbery and craft beer ridiculousness.

 

[unionrdr]

Or the other way around. I've heard them say," and I'll buy something safe"! Referring to not knowing if they'd like the craft beer, had they chosen one. but dang, after some 3 weeks or more of no beer, those HB stouts tasted & buzzed good.

 

[kombat]

I consider it a victory for the world of beer that those ads are even deemed necessary. What those ads tell me is that AB is resigned to the fact that their outmoded flagship product has a burgeoning image problem; the days of ever-expanding market share are over, and they’re just desperately trying to cling to their existing customers.

"Desperately trying to cling?"

OK, let's get a couple of things straight. AB-InBev is a massive, multi-billion dollar, multinational corporation with a huge stable of products that are popular worldwide, and over a hundred thousand employees. It's a huge business.

Huge businesses advertise.

So we accept the premise that no matter what, they're going to be advertising. Of course they are. As big as they are, they still have competitors, and so they must advertise and fight for their marketshare.

Now, put yourself in their marketing department's shoes. You look at the numbers and recognize that while worldwide beer consumption is still expanding, your own share of it is not expanding as quickly. You're losing ground to upstart craft beers.

So, as the marketing director, what do you do? Do you walk up to the board of directors and say, "Screw it, people are finally realizing craft beer is better, let's close up shop, lay off 155,000 employees, tank the stock price, and call it a day."?

No. Your job is to come up with advertisements. So you come up with ads that reassure your existing customer base, while simultaneously discouraging them from dipping their toes into the "craft beer" waters.

How is that "desperation?" That's just advertising. They have to come up with SOMETHING, so doesn't it only make sense that they produce ads that target the shifting realities of the marketplace?

I suspect no matter WHAT they put out as advertising (or is it the fact that they're advertising at all - as they've been doing for decades?), you'd still characterize it as "desperate thrashing and writhing."

 

[mcspanner]

Did anyone else observe that "not sipped" was accompanied by images of people shaking it up and spraying it- hardly a ringing endorsement of the palatability of their product. " Trust me, you'd rather shake this swill up and spray it over people than get some in your mouth" was what I took away from that. Advertising works.

 

[kombat]

I did not notice that, but aren't alcohol producers prohibited from depicting people actually consuming their products in commercials anyway? Ever noticed in liquor commercials, no one is ever actually drinking the product? I thought the same rule applied to beer.

 

[mcspanner]

I did not notice that, but aren't alcohol producers prohibited from depicting people actually consuming their products in commercials anyway? Ever noticed in liquor commercials, no one is ever actually drinking the product? I thought the same rule applied to beer.

Possibly so in the USA; here things are a little more ( hmmm how can I put this for maximum ironic effect?).....free!

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EsOKD6gT0_k[/ame]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t-reqWcZ--I[/ame]

( disclaimer- I get that this was an American advert aired on American TV so our rules don't apply- just enjoying the absurdity of life)

 

[mattdee1]

"Desperately trying to cling?"

OK, let's get a couple of things straight. AB-InBev is a massive, multi-billion dollar, multinational corporation with a huge stable of products that are popular worldwide, and over a hundred thousand employees. It's a huge business.

Huge businesses advertise.

So we accept the premise that no matter what, they're going to be advertising. Of course they are. As big as they are, they still have competitors, and so they must advertise and fight for their marketshare.

Now, put yourself in their marketing department's shoes. You look at the numbers and recognize that while worldwide beer consumption is still expanding, your own share of it is not expanding as quickly. You're losing ground to upstart craft beers.

So, as the marketing director, what do you do? Do you walk up to the board of directors and say, "Screw it, people are finally realizing craft beer is better, let's close up shop, lay off 155,000 employees, tank the stock price, and call it a day."?

No. Your job is to come up with advertisements. So you come up with ads that reassure your existing customer base, while simultaneously discouraging them from dipping their toes into the "craft beer" waters.

How is that "desperation?" That's just advertising. They have to come up with SOMETHING, so doesn't it only make sense that they produce ads that target the shifting realities of the marketplace?

I suspect no matter WHAT they put out as advertising (or is it the fact that they're advertising at all - as they've been doing for decades?), you'd still characterize it as "desperate thrashing and writhing."

Yes, the market is changing. Yes, big companies advertise. Yes, they have high-priced marketing aimed at generating (or, in the case of Bud, minimizing loss of) sales. And yes, it's probably going to work, at least to an extent.

What's interesting is your post is almost identical in message to mine, the only difference is in the color commentary: I'm calling a spade a spade because I hate Bud and am enjoying watching them resort to these tactics, and you're taking an apologist stance on behalf of Bud for those same tactics because you invest in AB-Inbev.

That doesn't change the reality of what is happening, though. The point still remains--if you're planning a multi-million dollar Superbowl spot and the best strategy that cash can buy is to say what your product is not, while you gingerly kiss the balls of sensitive men so that they don't get peer pressured into trying products you know there is a good chance they'll like better, that smacks a lot more of desperation than it does of confidence in the appeal of what you're selling.