Super Bowl

[brewfun]

Can you imagine going to work at Goose Island or Elysian, knowing what your overlords really think of what you do?

FWIW, Elysian makes a Pumpkin Peach Ale.

Ironic. Cynical. Ominous.

Thoughts?

For our friends outside the U.S., during our most watched sports event, Budweiser placed a 60 second spot for $8 million ad that was a declaration of war on Craft beer. Essentially, it was "embrace the suck. Don't think about it."

Edit: The video: http://youtu.be/siHU_9ec94c

[MaltLicker]

Fight the irony, and stop giving money to the InBev OverLords and the minions they bought. 

Even if you love their beers, the profit goes to ads like that. 

[Scott Ickes]

I found that ad to be very poorly thought out, knowing that they've recently purchased 10 Barrell and Elysian in the Pacific NW (both brewerys are in Seahawks country.

However, most Bud drinkers probably don't know who 10 Barrell and Elysian are, soooooooo....if you don't know good beer, then you drink Bud, Miller, Coors, et. al. and the ad probably just left those very same mass produced Bud, Miller, Coors drinkers confused.

[KernelCrush]

It shows the progress you guys have made.  Would they have spent that kind of money just a few years ago?  They know that once someone switches to craft as their choice they're not going to switch back. Its an all or none kind of decision. Not hard to figure out why that is. 

[Oginme]

You have to laugh at the ad.  At the same time that they are making investments by buying craft breweries, they run an ad appealing to those who like the 'macro brews'.  Unfortunately, very little of the beer purchasing public really knows (or most likely cares) what is going on in the business.

[jtoots]

I got a kick out of the craft drinker's mustache...

[KernelCrush]

I like the eyebrow lift on the mustache guy.  And when it goes to the group of 3 craft beer drinkers at the table.  Seem to suggest we are daisy-sniffing wine drinkers.  Watch how they show the flowers at the table as if they are in the drink and the menu board in the back says reds and roses, no beers.

[RickS]

I rreally believe that the people that are running Anhouser-Bush are running scared.  They are losing drinkers to the taste of craft beers becasuse the people drinking craft beers are never going to go back to drinking swill.

[WallyBrews]

I don’t think it’s as much as an attack on craft beer as it’s a rallying cry for Budweiser consumers.  It’s my understanding that sales of Budweiser have been on the decline as of late and with craft beer getting much of people’s attention this is their way of saying “hey its ok to drink Bud!”.  Even with the decline in Bud sales, it still dwarfs that of craft brew and probably will for some time.  They’re not going to convince craft drinkers to switch back, I think they just want to hold onto the consumers they have.  At the same time it’s not going to win any new drinkers.  I heard somewhere recently that some large percentage of people 21-28 have never even had a Budweiser!  That is their biggest challenge, as the population shifts and sales continue to drop off, how will they maintain relevancy?  Maybe that’s the reason for their purchasing of craft breweries, to ensure they have a marketable product in 20 years.

[TAHammerton]

Budweiser be afraid, very afraid - Brewfun is coming for you!

[Baron Von MunchKrausen]

I thought the ad was ingenious. A bit silly how they portrayed craft brew drinkers, but it was quite a smart marketing move.
Bud has no worries about craft beer. They certainly have the $$ to buy and position themselves in craft market segments.
It may seem illogical to diss the type of beer made by the breweries they are snatching up, but that's the ploy to attain increased market share in all segments.
It's a technique called "flanker branding" - They position their traditional beer as "anti-craft beer" while at the same time increasing their market share in craft beer.

Proctor and Gamble did the exact same thing with laundry detergent. "Tide" and "Cheer". Tide was the more expensive seller. Cheer was introduced as a less expensive alternative to Tide. P & G actually created a mini-war controversy as to which one was better. The end result - increased sales for both.

[KernelCrush]

Craft beers I'd like to see advertised in next years game:

Crippled Clydesdale American Pale Ale
Trampled Labrador American Brown Ale
Beechwood Buffalo Chip American Light Lager

[Slobrew]

I still drink Bud after mowing the lawn or a hot day out in the yard. BUT when I want a beer that just tastes good, I go to the Keezer and have one of my own.

[Scott Ickes]

I still drink Bud after mowing the lawn or a hot day out in the yard. BUT when I want a beer that just tastes good, I go to the Keezer and have one of my own.

After the lawn is mowed, I tell my wife to have one of my Hefe's, since she's the one that mowed it.  On the occasions that I mow it, I have a session IPA or a Kolsch.

[Baron Von MunchKrausen]

After the lawn is mowed, I tell my wife to have one of my Hefe's, since she's the one that mowed it.  On the occasions that I mow it, I have a session IPA or a Kolsch.

After I pay the neighbor kid to mow the lawn, I have a nice golden ale or a red ale to reward myself on a job well done....
(wipes forehead)....