Do you like to drink water? A case against Molson Coors over beer ads at Super Bowl LHC: The Anheuser-Busch vs. Bud Light

The top selling beer makers in the US have challenged each other before. Molson Coors sued Anheuser-Busch in 2019 over Super Bowl ads that accused the Miller Lite and Coors Light maker for saying its beer was sweetened with rice rather than corn syrup. The case was dismissed.

In the 15-second spot, a cyclist takes a break from riding uphill to open a beer and douse himself with it. Bud Light has a similar blue color that adorns the packaging and no specific beers were mentioned. The NAD stated that tasting like water is a measurable attribute and that customers might reasonably expect the statement is supported by such evidence.

An Anheuser- Busch official said in a statement that the beer industry should work together to strengthen the beer category instead of resorting to misleading attacks that are detrimental to beer drinkers.

Most advertisers comply with their decisions even if they aren’t legally binding. The ads are referred to the FTC if they don’t comply.

Why Do Smells Like Light? Why They Still Are Probably Not Suitable for a Future Super Bowl (and More)?

Bud Light Seltzer’s confusing identity is not an ideal position to be in for another year, says BryanRoth, an analyst and editor of Sightlines+.

Bud Light Seltzer used to have ads that used humor. In one ad shown during the 2020 Super Bowl, Bud Light Seltzer enlisted rapper Post Malone and showed the inside of his brain trying to decide to either buy Bud Light or Bud Light Seltzer from a convenience store. (He ends up buying both.) Another TV ad featured a toll-free phone number for confused customers to call to answer their questions about the spiked seltzer.

“Some have worked well, but typically only for a short period of time as consumers continue to seek something new and different,” she said. Many buyers of seltzers are spending less on the product, with a third of volume loss due to shifting to spirits-based cocktails.

The novelty has fallen off, and now many brands are using spirit based cocktails and product redesigns. People prefer a can of a canned margarita over a can of a malt based one.

White Claw remains the top-selling brand, Truly is in second and Bud Light Seltzer is in third place, according to data from IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm. The Bud Light subcategory had a drop of 22% last year and it’s worse than the category on average, which was down 15%.

Kaleigh Theriault is a thought leadership manager at NIq. She told CNN that the category has 361 brands and many have new flavors to appeal to drinkers with varying results.