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  • Budweiser America

    • 05/17/2016
    • ADB
    • 0 Comments

    Exponential Patriotism

     

    By now you have heard about it, the new Bud cans and labels. Everyone is weighing in on the move. Most of the media critics, which are aptly named, have drawn out the long knives and gleefully slashed viciously at the move. Simply Google “Budweiser America” and your screen is filled with hundreds of links, images and stories abounding in the new campaign. American Bars ventures that a majority of the pieces are snide, sarcastic backlash at the ridiculous pandering Bud is doing to self promote during the national elections, the Summer Olympics, a summer filled with hundreds of major baseball games, dozens of NASCAR races, and parties from the beach to your own back yard. Yes, when you read that last sentence again, you realize that this promotion is not only big, but the sass from the media will only fuel the interest.

    When there are equal elements of pro and con on a subject, all publicity is good publicity. So Budweiser is going to be viewed as amazingly ingenious, potentially absurd depending on your own viewpoint; high profile branding extremes that will result in a landslide of sales for the brand.

    What is the big deal? It is a bit of design genius. The company has kept the same can you already know, but when you look closely, you’ll realize that it has swapped out its own name, "Budweiser," for "America." That’s right, Budweiser has renamed its beer America for the summer. "We thought nothing was more iconic than Budweiser and nothing was more iconic than America," says Tosh Hall, creative director at the can’s branding firm JKR.

    Being clever with the obvious is brilliant. Summer is peak beer-selling season—the entire industry sees a double-digit boost. Clearly 1/3 of all annual beer sales come between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

    The patriotic theme is not new with Bud. Since 2011, Budweiser has released special summer-edition cans that feature images such as the American flag and the Statue of Liberty, upping the ante on its red-white-and-blue packaging with a full salute to patriotism—as a nod to Memorial Day, July Fourth, and the quiet American dream of drinking a beer in your backyard while charring various processed meats.

    Like it or hate it, Budweiser stands as a quintessentially American Brand; an iconic label as distinct as Coke, Disney, Ford, McDonalds, Walmart, the New York Yankees or the Green Bay Packers.

    This concept is not some, simple, slap it together campaign. Changing the title wasn’t as simple as typing out a new label. Budweiser is a hand-drawn script that had to be recreated to spell out our country’s name. The "A" in America was particularly challenging, because as the focal point of the word, it had to channel the same distinctive, swirly aesthetic of the Budweiser "B."

    The alterations don’t stop with the beer’s name. Almost every bit of type on the Budweiser label has been scrubbed away by “Easter Egg” patriotism for the drinker to discover. There is all new text citing the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner, and America the Beautiful—all rendered in newly developed hand lettering, inspired by Budweiser’s archives.

    To name just a few of the updates: "King of Beers" has been changed to "E Pluribus Unum," "The World Renowned" changed to "Land of the Free," and "Anheuser-Busch, Inc." updated to read "Liberty & Justice For All." Even legalese like "Trademark" was changed to "Indivisible," and "Registered" changed to "Since 1776" (you know, the year America was founded—even though, technically, Budweiser wouldn’t be available for another 100 years).

    Yes, you can see the cameras panning the crowds at Fenway Stadium this summer, singing the national anthem while reading the words off their beer cans. Silly? Maybe, but how many impressions of Bud will be broadcast to millions of people reinforcing the patriotic edge displayed here with flags, the anthem, and baseball? Yes, it truly is brilliance.

    The only remaining nod to Budweiser on the can is viewed on the back, where Budweiser’s bow tie logo is printed.

    Will this boost sales? Undoubtedly! Even if you don’t drink beer, one can figure a lot of people will buy a 12-pack entirely for the joke of it or as a collector edition; a piece of branding in Budweiser’s patriotically brewed empire. The tagline for the entire related media campaign is meant to be an incredibly sincere, even inspiring message: "America is in your hands."

    Even if you hate it, you know it’s really great marketing and branding.

    All branding is a manipulation, and this particular packaging has been executed to the point of parody. But how many brands would be willing to literally erase their own name off a package and put a country on it instead?

    So, in the spirit of true patriotism, we at American Bars salute Budweiser and their America Beer. 

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Budweiser America

Exponential Patriotism

 

By now you have heard about it, the new Bud cans and labels. Everyone is weighing in on the move. Most of the media critics, which are aptly named, have drawn out the long knives and gleefully slashed viciously at the move. Simply Google “Budweiser America” and your screen is filled with hundreds of links, images and stories abounding in the new campaign. American Bars ventures that a majority of the pieces are snide, sarcastic backlash at the ridiculous pandering Bud is doing to self promote during the national elections, the Summer Olympics, a summer filled with hundreds of major baseball games, dozens of NASCAR races, and parties from the beach to your own back yard. Yes, when you read that last sentence again, you realize that this promotion is not only big, but the sass from the media will only fuel the interest.

When there are equal elements of pro and con on a subject, all publicity is good publicity. So Budweiser is going to be viewed as amazingly ingenious, potentially absurd depending on your own viewpoint; high profile branding extremes that will result in a landslide of sales for the brand.

What is the big deal? It is a bit of design genius. The company has kept the same can you already know, but when you look closely, you’ll realize that it has swapped out its own name, "Budweiser," for "America." That’s right, Budweiser has renamed its beer America for the summer. "We thought nothing was more iconic than Budweiser and nothing was more iconic than America," says Tosh Hall, creative director at the can’s branding firm JKR.

Being clever with the obvious is brilliant. Summer is peak beer-selling season—the entire industry sees a double-digit boost. Clearly 1/3 of all annual beer sales come between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The patriotic theme is not new with Bud. Since 2011, Budweiser has released special summer-edition cans that feature images such as the American flag and the Statue of Liberty, upping the ante on its red-white-and-blue packaging with a full salute to patriotism—as a nod to Memorial Day, July Fourth, and the quiet American dream of drinking a beer in your backyard while charring various processed meats.

Like it or hate it, Budweiser stands as a quintessentially American Brand; an iconic label as distinct as Coke, Disney, Ford, McDonalds, Walmart, the New York Yankees or the Green Bay Packers.

This concept is not some, simple, slap it together campaign. Changing the title wasn’t as simple as typing out a new label. Budweiser is a hand-drawn script that had to be recreated to spell out our country’s name. The "A" in America was particularly challenging, because as the focal point of the word, it had to channel the same distinctive, swirly aesthetic of the Budweiser "B."

The alterations don’t stop with the beer’s name. Almost every bit of type on the Budweiser label has been scrubbed away by “Easter Egg” patriotism for the drinker to discover. There is all new text citing the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner, and America the Beautiful—all rendered in newly developed hand lettering, inspired by Budweiser’s archives.

To name just a few of the updates: "King of Beers" has been changed to "E Pluribus Unum," "The World Renowned" changed to "Land of the Free," and "Anheuser-Busch, Inc." updated to read "Liberty & Justice For All." Even legalese like "Trademark" was changed to "Indivisible," and "Registered" changed to "Since 1776" (you know, the year America was founded—even though, technically, Budweiser wouldn’t be available for another 100 years).

Yes, you can see the cameras panning the crowds at Fenway Stadium this summer, singing the national anthem while reading the words off their beer cans. Silly? Maybe, but how many impressions of Bud will be broadcast to millions of people reinforcing the patriotic edge displayed here with flags, the anthem, and baseball? Yes, it truly is brilliance.

The only remaining nod to Budweiser on the can is viewed on the back, where Budweiser’s bow tie logo is printed.

Will this boost sales? Undoubtedly! Even if you don’t drink beer, one can figure a lot of people will buy a 12-pack entirely for the joke of it or as a collector edition; a piece of branding in Budweiser’s patriotically brewed empire. The tagline for the entire related media campaign is meant to be an incredibly sincere, even inspiring message: "America is in your hands."

Even if you hate it, you know it’s really great marketing and branding.

All branding is a manipulation, and this particular packaging has been executed to the point of parody. But how many brands would be willing to literally erase their own name off a package and put a country on it instead?

So, in the spirit of true patriotism, we at American Bars salute Budweiser and their America Beer. 

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