Budweiser: King of Beers

Samantha Hufford        

M. Smith

Ad Analysis

March 27th, 2017

Budweiser: King of Beers

“I’m standing under a sign that says, ‘Budweiser is king of beers,’ and everybody’s got their beers here today,’ I told them. “But I’m here to talk about the King of Kings. I know I might look like a preacher, but I’m not. Here’s how you can tell whether someone’s a preacher or not: if he gets up and says some words and passes a hat for you to put money in, that’s a preacher. This is free. This free of charge, which proves I’m not a preacher.”

• Phil Robertson

“Remember: ‘I’ before ‘e’, except in Budweiser.”

• Anonymous

If you pick up a newspaper or a magazine, what is the first thing you see? The common person would not even realize that what they are looking is trying to persuade them. Advertising is a persuasive way of trying to sell products to the generalized public. Advertising methods and techniques were first used in the eighteenth century. During that period of time though it was not called “advertising.” In an excerpt from Media Control by Noam Chomsky, he explains that propaganda was used as a tactic during wars over long periods of history throughout the United States. For example, during the world wars, Woodrow Wilson used propaganda to persuade the United States into coming out of isolation and joining the war against Germany. There are many forms of advertising and propaganda including mediums like television commercials, print (magazines, newspapers, etc.), and the internet. Simply put, advertising is persuasion.

Budweiser was born in the city of České Budějovice, which is now located in the Czech Republic. They began brewing Budweiser in 1795 while exportation to the United States began in 1875. Throughout the years, Budweiser beer underwent a lot of behind the scenes changes and now a center stage change has caught everyone’s attention. The company was not only using advertising to sell their product, but it was also to politically advertise their product. In an attempt to skyrocket sales of Budweiser in the United States, Anheuser Busch changed the name of the beer from “Budweiser” to “America.”  Anheuser Busch launched a marketing campaign called, “America is in Your Hands,” in late May of 2016. The cans were to be sold until the 2016 presidential election in November. This marketing campaign was launched with hopes to instill a sense of pride and patriotism into every American that held America high while celebrating their rights, freedoms, and values. Persuading them to purchase their beer by implying that they are representing and supporting their nation; the best nation in the world, of course, because no other country in the world has its own brand-name beer named after it. This change, no doubt, has everyone eager.

Ricardo Marques, Vice President of Budweiser, stated that they picked this year to launch “America is in Your Hands” because in 2016 the United States would be participating in many widespread events over the summer, such as the Olympics and Paralympics happening in Rio during the month of August. Anheuser Busch was trying to attain their largest consumer base that were excited for the Olympics while cheering on their country from home. Not only was the name on the can changed, but it included lyrics from two of the most patriotic and historic anthems the United States owns: The Star-Spangled Banner and The Pledge of Allegiance. Americans love and enjoy beer, especially their Budweiser.

Busch made a bold marketing move to change the can completely to ignite American pride, which led to the most important reasoning behind the change: the 2016 presidential election. This election was the most controversial and polarized presidential race that anyone has ever encountered. Putting these lyrics on the newly branded beer subconsciously makes people think of the patriotic United States; even by a quick glance at the box while walking through the grocery store subconsciously people will feel patriotic. The presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton happened to be one of the grandest races that has ever taken place. When people think about the election, they know that this race will make history because the two candidates stand as history makers. One of them, Hillary Clinton, could be the first female president to hold office. The other one, Donald Trump, has a unique presence and is not “politically correct.”

 Patriotism is the devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country which means one acts as a good Samaritan and completing civil duties. Busch’s goal was not only to inspire drinkers to celebrate America, but to subconsciously drive Americans to vote in the 2016 election. In The Secret Sales Pitch by August Bullock, he explains that use of subliminal persuasion can subconsciously make a person do something without them even realizing what they are doing. With that in mind, Anheuser Busch implanted the idea that by drinking America, or Budweiser, you are supporting the United States and the freedoms and rights you have as an American. Consumers then feel urged to buy these beers since they will make them feel more patriotic or more “apart” of the United States. Not only does Busch’s bold move seem to have something to do with pride in sporting events, but also having pride in what they want the future of this nation to look like, which could drastically change depending on who won the race. So, with all these sporting events going on and the controversial election cycle on top of it, who wouldn’t want a nice cold can of America to go along with cheering on your nation?

Another technique used by Anheuser Busch in “America is in your hands,” is color theory. Color theory is strategic use of certain colors in advertising and marketing to evoke desired emotions or reactions from the target audience, or in terms of August Bullock as he puts it, it is subliminal in visual arts. In the Budweiser America ad, the entire background is a rich, warm red. The color red causes a sense of excitement and youthfulness in the consumer. The ad brings this sense of comfort and warmth to the viewers as the red engulfs them and draws them in from afar. The cans themselves are a frosty, blueish silver. Blue symbolizes trust and reliability, Budweiser has been a trusted brand name for centuries, the change of name doesn’t change what is in the can. The silver incites a calm and neutral feeling, the red draws you in and now you are in, the silver is calming and reassures you that regardless of label, the beer you love is still inside the can. The cool silver cans on the warm red background also imply this feeling of a nice, cold brew. No one likes warm beer, and even in two-dimensional picture, Anheuser Busch’s marketing department was still able to retrieve those feelings on command just from a glance of the viewer. On top of the strategic color choices, the layout of the can puts forth an image of quality. You do not look at these cans and think of a cheap beer. The can is mostly solid in the middle with red bands at the top, in the middle and at the bottom. There is an ornate crest on the top that is identical to the one on the normal Budweiser cans but they have replaced the wording to be patriotic. The AB that stands for Anheuser Busch is now a US that stands for United States. Surrounding the crest, were six of the seven continents to where they distribute the beer. The six of the seven continents were Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, and America (both North and South America). The names of each continent were replaced with, “The United States of America.” The top banner that is around the crest has lyrics from the Star-Spangled Banner in it which used to be a description and brief history of the brand. On the top red band, where it used to say trademark registered, it now says, “Indivisible Since 1776.” The middle of the can says, “E Pluribis Unum,” which is the printing press where all United States currency is made. On the bottom of the can, there are lyrics from America the Beautiful printed on it, and the bottom red band reads, “Liberty and Justice for All.” Anheuser Busch used these marketing strategies not only to bring Americans together for the Olympics, but also to persuade them to vote in the upcoming presidential election.