Budweiser to Change Its Name to America — Until the November Election

This isn't cynical marketing at all. Really.

‘Merica. No matter what anybody says, this country is always the greatest. And to demonstrate its patriotism and appeal to those who also are filled with national fervor, Budweiser has asked the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for approval to re-brand itself as “America” this summer in anticipation of the Rio 2016 Olympics in August. Budweiser is an official sponsor.

Yes. Budweiser wants to name itself after our very own country.

“The packaging will run from May 23 through election season in November,” Ad Age reports. And that seems to clearly indicate that Anheuser-Busch, now owned by InBev, wants to take advantage of the intense interest surrounding the presidential election as well.

You might be familiar a few of the other elements on the proposed label. You’ll find “E Pluribus Unum” from the seal of the United States — which actually reminds me more of the “Wizard of Oz” than anything else. There’s also “from the redwood forest to the Gulf stream waters, this land was made for you and me” — which probably reminds everyone of long assemblies in elementary school. And not to be overlooked, the phrase “indivisible since 1776” — which seems a little factually askew to a Southerner.

Budweiser tweeted an image of the new label this morning.

Of course, the irony that Budwieser is owned by an enormous corporation based in Belgium is lost on no one.

Nonetheless, Anheuser-Busch InBev U.S. marketing vice-president Jorn Socquet doesn’t seem worried about irony or snark and, in a burst of honesty, is quoted by Ad Age saying: “You have this wave of patriotism that is going to go up and down throughout the summertime. And we found with Budweiser such a beautiful angle to play on that sentiment.”

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