Marketing in the News: Budweiser

When thinking about sports and beer what comes to mind? For me I think of Budweiser which is served in many Major League Baseball Stadiums and is crowned “The King of Beers”. I recently saw an ad for Budweiser partnering with Ken Griffey Jr. offering merchandise that brings “The Kid” and Budweiser together. Initially I was interested in the article that featured the advertisement solely because I am a huge Ken Griffey Jr fan and there is some nostalgia associated with his brand. Upon further digging I found out that this isn’t the first time this year they have worked together. For Father’s Day Budweiser had a heartwarming commercial showcasing a Ken Griffey Jr and his dad.

Budweiser seems to be striking out according to an article in Newsweek that peaked my interest, , it highlights the backlash the beer company has been receiving over a controversial partnership earlier this year. The article seems to focus more on the controversy of the partnership with a Trans influencer than the partnership and merchandise collaboration with Ken Griffey Jr. Budweiser is being dragged for their recent commercials coming off as “desperate” while also receiving backlash for not doing enough to stand by their decision to partner with Dylan Mulvany, it appears that Budweiser can’t do right by either side of their customer base. Their traditional consumers are stating “They just need to say sorry” but who do they apologize to without alienating another group consisting of potential consumers? Ultimately it sounds as though the nostalgia of Ken Griffey Jr has been overshadowed by their action or inaction when it comes to how they handled consumer opinion earlier in the year.

Budweiser was brought to us by Anheuser-Busch in 1876 and took the title “King of Beers” in 1901 after it broke the 1-million-barrel sales mark for the first time. Anheuser-Bush has a long and interesting history serving cold drinks and adapting to the changing times which can be viewed on their website, https://us.budweiser.com/history. Budweiser has always had eye catching advertisements either in print or commercials, they stand out with their Budweiser Clydesdales which you can see in person in major parades, Busch gardens, Anheuser-Busch breweries, and several other locations.

With the longevity of the brand I believe that their blunders won’t have a crippling long term effect on the brand. I think there could have been a better way to address the previous controversy by highlighting their trans-woman partnership and extending several more partnerships with influential trans-men as well as influential women and marketing themselves as “everyone’s beer”. By marketing itself out of men’s sporting stadiums and into women’s sports, a lake day, or just hanging out with friends of all gender associations they could have recovered without seeming too desperate to regain their standing among their “Traditional” consumer while also expanding to newer consumers.