ST. LOUIS-Red, white and Budweiser?
Beginning May 23, as part of its summer advertising campaign, Anheuser-Busch is replacing the name "Budweiser" with "America" on bottles and cans of its flagship brand, and swapping out "King of Beers" with "E pluribus unum," (Out of many, one) the motto of the United States.
The new packaging, which will run through the November election, also has other appeals to patriotism, including lyrics from the "Star-Spangled Banner" and Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." The letters "US" replace "AB" in the center of the ornate crest that appears on every label.
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, whose parent is Belgium-based A-B InBev, said Tuesday that the packaging is part of its 'America is in Your Hands' campaign that will be featured in a TV commercial June 1, on billboards and online content.
"We are embarking on what should be the most patriotic summer that this generation has ever seen, with Copa America Centario being held on U.S. soil for the first time, Team USA competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games," Ricardo Marques, Budweiser vice president, said in a statement.
Budweiser, first brewed in St. Louis in 1876, has lost market share in the U.S. for two decades but sales are growing internationally. Last year, A-B redesigned Budweiser's labels, replacing gold accents with platinum.
Additionally, A-B said it'll roll out Budweiser cans and aluminum bottles later this month with an image of the Statue of Liberty's torch to coincide with its Team Budweiser support of Olympic and Paralympic athletes.