I know it's been sometime since I've posted here (is a 3 year hiatus a bad thing...) but I've been wanting to get back into writing more consistently, so why not talk about beer. And not just any beer, but America!
In case you haven't heard, this summer, Budweiser is changing it's name to America until the end of the election in November. No I'm not kidding. This is a real thing that is happening.
Why would one of the most ubiquitous names in American beers need to change its name? When it comes to marketing, if you have a strong brand identity, you don't usually change your name. However, Budweiser apparently felt differently. Apparently they made the switch "to inspire drinkers to celebrate America and Budweiser's shared values of freedom and authenticity." Seems like an interesting idea.
I have a better theory though. I'm pretty sure that Americans are being mocked a bit and we don't even know it. Perhaps its slipped your mind, but the most American beer out there (which if you asked most people, which beer would you identify America with, Budweiser would be in their top 3 picks with 80% placing it first) is actually owned by a Belgian company named AB InBev, head-quartered in Leuven, Belgium.
Could this be just a slight mockery of America and the state of our elections this year? We do have a reality TV star who's never been elected to any political office and who's announcement was followed by the New York Post publishing a picture of him as a clown and his campaign is currently viewed by many as a circus. I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility.
Regardless if you agree with Trump or not, a good portion of the world is wondering what in the world America is doing right now. Perhaps, just perhaps, the Belgians, who own the most American beer of all time, wanted to tap into some patriotism of the election year to try and cut down on the rise of craft beers that have been eating into their profits for several years now.
If there is one thing I do know though it is this: I'm not motivated to drink more Budweiser then I already do. Which honestly is only when I'm at someones house and they offer it because its the only thing they have. I'm going to make a fairly educated guess that a lot of you won't be putting down your Sam Adams, Boulevard or Shiner's anytime soon due to the change. But, it did get them into the news - and me back to writing - so all in all, it has already had some good impact.
Comments