My Letter to Budweiser

[kombat]

We're looking down on Bud for talkin out of both sides of their mouth, buying up craft breweries then mocking said breweries.

*yawn* What else is new?

I saw a GMC commercial over the weekend that asked a bunch of kids to demonstrate the difference between how a "truck guy" shakes hands versus how the (presumably limp-wristed) "car guy" would do it.

The commercial ended with a flawless shot of a shiny, sparkling truck on a pedestal, with the text and voiceover (in a deep, manly voice, of course) telling me "You know you want a truck."

Really? Is that what advertising has come to? The same argument I used on teenage girls in high school? "Come on, you know you wanna."

That's bad enough, but get ready, because here comes the real shocker. Are you sitting down? Get this. GMC is owned by GM, which also owns several other brands (like Chevrolet and Cadillac). Brace yourself: THOSE BRANDS MAKE AND SELL CARS! GMC is insulting their own company!

I'll pause here and give you a moment to wipe the Fanta off your computer monitor.

I can consistently make the worst pancakes you ever had but I'm not gonna crow about it.

Can you sell 300 million cases a year of them? No? Then it's not really the same thing, is it?

 

[kombat]

And the fact they burned through 6M bucks makin' it.

Wait, what? That commercial cost $6MM to make? Do you have a cite for that, unionrdr? Surely that includes the cost of the airtime ($4.5MM, IIRC), no? Heck, even $2.5MM seems like an awful lot for such a rather generic commercial.

 

[Imperator85]

*yawn* What else is new?

I saw a GMC commercial over the weekend that asked a bunch of kids to demonstrate the difference between how a "truck guy" shakes hands versus how the (presumably limp-wristed) "car guy" would do it.

The commercial ended with a flawless shot of a shiny, sparkling truck on a pedestal, with the text and voiceover (in a deep, manly voice, of course) telling me "You know you want a truck."

Really? Is that what advertising has come to? The same argument I used on teenage girls in high school? "Come on, you know you wanna."

That's bad enough, but get ready, because here comes the real shocker. Are you sitting down? Get this. GMC is owned by GM, which also owns several other brands (like Chevrolet and Cadillac). Brace yourself: THOSE BRANDS MAKE AND SELL CARS! GMC is insulting their own company!

I'll pause here and give you a moment to wipe the Fanta off your computer monitor.



Can you sell 300 million cases a year of them? No? Then it's not really the same thing, is it?

Just because they are ultimately owned by the same conglomeration/higher corporate entity doesn't meant that they still don't compete with one another. I

And I doubt GMC would be insinuating you're less than a man if you buy a car unless it worked. They're targeting a specific market.

 

[Imperator85]

And the fact they burned through 6M bucks makin' it. Any decent youtuber could've done it a heck of a lot cheaper. That's the funny part, besides the obvious back stabbing...

How much of that cost was simply because it aired during the Super Bowl? Not to say that they couldn't have made the same commercial more cheaply, but that's corporate advertising for you.

 

[unionrdr]

It might've been Fox8 where I saw that cost. But Super Bowl adds are traditionally expensive. That's when they'll get the most exposure.

 

[Psylocide]

Morgan Freeman needs to read this on video.

 

[unionrdr]

I can see that! He's got the perfect voice for narration...

 

[thatjonguy]

Yeastmode, sent you a PM.

 

[DerrangedPOJO]

Enjoyed the post! Great writing skills.

The ad did not bother me as it did some. It was just a marketing tool/trick to up there profits/sales. Honestly, 75% of the people in this forum would do the same thing if in the same situation or be very similar. Money sadly changes almost everyone. Just to be clear i am not defending AB. I personally do not drink their pee water.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

offended? naw. annoyed by a bunch of water headed morons regurgitating stupid floccin' commercials at me? hells yes.

Wait, are you are BMC hater or defender? I has the confuse now.

 

[kombat]

Just because they are ultimately owned by the same conglomeration/higher corporate entity doesn't meant that they still don't compete with one another.

Thanks. That was my entire point. Was my sarcasm too subtle?

 

[Milan37]

The thing that should insult most people here and has been hinted at is this: the point of the commercial is the aggressive celebration of mediocrity.

It follows the trend of treating the mediocre as somehow more genuine, and the excellent as shallow elitism.

This should come as an insult to every brewer, writer, builder, machinist, carpenter, painter, sculptor, electrician, woodworker, shipbuilder, computer programmer, and everyone else who strives for excellence in their craft.

 

[Bowfisher]

By the way, I still have a big problem with your awful cousin Bud Light Platinum for stealing $10 from me.

Great letter, it was funny but when I hit this part I was rolling on the floor! I feel the exact same way about Bud Light Platinum.:cross:

 

[1977Brewer]

At what point can we consider this dead horse completely flogged? I don't care what anyone on this planet thinks of me, my passion for delicious beverages, or how I enjoy them. A goofy ad campaign by a company that has lined their pockets slinging the lowest common denominator of said beverages has no sway with me.

 

[SnakeRidge]

*yawn* What else is new?

I saw a GMC commercial over the weekend that asked a bunch of kids to demonstrate the difference between how a "truck guy" shakes hands versus how the (presumably limp-wristed) "car guy" would do it.

The commercial ended with a flawless shot of a shiny, sparkling truck on a pedestal, with the text and voiceover (in a deep, manly voice, of course) telling me "You know you want a truck."

Really? Is that what advertising has come to? The same argument I used on teenage girls in high school? "Come on, you know you wanna."

That's bad enough, but get ready, because here comes the real shocker. Are you sitting down? Get this. GMC is owned by GM, which also owns several other brands (like Chevrolet and Cadillac). Brace yourself: THOSE BRANDS MAKE AND SELL CARS! GMC is insulting their own company!

I'll pause here and give you a moment to wipe the Fanta off your computer monitor.



Can you sell 300 million cases a year of them? No? Then it's not really the same thing, is it?

Thanks for all that, I had no idea how marketing worked. Hope you feel better.

 

[1977Brewer]

This is where screennames give us some insight into what will happen should we open a discourse with them.

 

[lazysunday]

At what point can we consider this dead horse completely flogged? I don't care what anyone on this planet thinks of me, my passion for delicious beverages, or how I enjoy them. A goofy ad campaign by a company that has lined their pockets slinging the lowest common denominator of said beverages has no sway with me.

Agreed.

Also, I imagine a large swath (maybe not all) of people here would overall praise Free Market Capitalism as working, and our Representative Democracy as a good system.

However when you put those two things together, you get the sort of monopolizing aggregation of those who tried hard in the beginning (when AB was just a small brewery like all the others) and those who want to continue to build an empire (AB now).

If we had a true democracy, where lobbyists couldn't walk the halls of congress handing out stacks of cash for a law or deregulation in return, then monopolies may not be such a big problem.

But the rich want to stay rich, and get richer. And the only way they can do that is to gobble up the competition. And since they can purchase the loopholes to do it, they're going to.

I guess what I'm saying is we can't have it both ways. We cant exult Free Market Capitalism as "the best" economic system and yet continue to decry "The Man" when they ultimately use that system to their advantage. AB is the All American Dream Rags To Riches story that we're all told we can achieve. If we're going to pump the Capitalist brand, then we should honestly be happy for them.

 

[hunter_le five]

The butthurt is strong in this thread.

I don't see the sense in getting one's panties in a wad over a dumb commercial.

And c'mon, sometimes some of us brewers and/or beer enthusiasts do tend to take ourselves a little too seriously. While I didn't agree with the commercial, I thought it was kind of funny.

This whole thing smells like the BWW "bratwurst beer" commercial all over again....

 

[SnakeRidge]

This is where screennames give us some insight into what will happen should we open a discourse with them.

Yeah, I know, I know. It's like getting in a staring contest with a dog, you'll probably win, but you really should have something better to do.

 

[1977Brewer]

The butthurt is strong in this thread.

I don't see the sense in getting one's panties in a wad over a dumb commercial.

And c'mon, sometimes some of us brewers and/or beer enthusiasts do tend to take ourselves a little too seriously. While I didn't agree with the commercial, I thought it was kind of funny.

This whole thing smells like the BWW "bratwurst beer" commercial all over again....

BWW "bratwurst beer"

Pretty jelz of that dude's tap wall.

 

[hunter_le five]

Anyone who doesn't think craft beer people deserve a little mockery, take a look at this guy's beer review videos.

See if you can sit through even ONE of his videos. I dare you.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Anyone who doesn't think craft beer people deserve a little mockery, take a look at this guy's beer review videos.

See if you can sit through even ONE of his videos. I dare you.

Didn't make it.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I don't even want to click on it.

edit: I clicked on it. Can't watch, I hate his face too much.

 

[SnakeRidge]

Seen one of the videos, punched my phone.

 

[ComcastWineRookie]

i wanna punch that guy in the face

 

[Brettomomyces]

Is it Darwin? Can't see youtube where I am at the moment...

 

[ComcastWineRookie]

yes, darwin

 

[LAHammer]

Great letter!
Funny commercial!
Can't we all just get along???????

 

[Gavin C]

I'll pause here and give you a moment to wipe the Fanta off your computer monitor.

Love it.

 

[unionrdr]

I saw the video,
Damn me eyes,
with a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead,
And a yawning hole with a battered head,
With a rowl like that,
he should be struck dumb.
Wrapped in mauns'le tight,
With twice ten turns of a houser's bite.
With a yo heave ho,
& fare thee well, with a southern plunge,
And a southern swell...
Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell...
Yo ho ho & the video's dumb! He doth ramble too much ya harrr!