A former Anheuser-Busch executive is crediting Budweiser with finally learning from its costly flirtation with woke marketing and beginning to reconnect with its traditional, patriotic customer base.
Appearing Monday on Fox Business Networks Mornings with Maria, exAnheuser-Busch executive Anson Frericks praised the companys latest Super Bowl push as a deliberate pivot away from the Dylan Mulvaney campaign that alienated core consumers and wiped out market share. According to Breitbart, Frericks framed the new strategy as a return to the brands roots, emphasizing that big-game advertisers paid $8 million to $10 million this year for ads and warning, They better be getting banged for their buck.
Frericks explained that successful advertising must both stand out and influence buying habits, a balance Budweiser badly missed when it embraced progressive identity politics. And I think they do that for two reasons. One, the commercial has to be memorable, and then second, it needs to change consumer behavior, he said, noting that the Mulvaney spots were memorable, but the consumer behavior that changed, they lost tons of consumers.
By contrast, he argued, the new Budweiser campaign leans into unifying, all-American imagery that speaks to the brands blue-collar base rather than lecturing them. I think this is a step back in the right direction where youre having Eagles, youre having Clydesdales, youre having classic rock, Free Bird, Frericks said, adding, I think this is changing the consumer direction back towards people wanting to drink more Budweiser and drinking more beer.
Host Maria Bartiromo pressed him on whether the company had truly succeeded in reclaiming patriotic themes and repairing the damage. And you think Budweiser did it. You think they were effective in doing that, getting back to patriotism for America? she asked, highlighting the broader cultural stakes of the brands course correction.
Frericks responded that early signs suggest the strategy is working, with Budweiser beginning to claw back ground in the U.S. market after its self-inflicted setback. I think were going to see over this past year, but the company has actually been gaining market share in the United States over the last year, he said, arguing that the new ads are heading back in the right direction and starting to resonate with that sort of everyday sort of beer drinker.
He also tied Budweisers shift to a larger cultural need for real-world community in an era of isolation and digital distraction. Theyre starting to bring more people back into socializing as well, Frericks observed, lamenting too much discussion over the last year about people staying home, people playing video games, not going out.
For Frericks, beer advertising grounded in shared American symbols offers a rare opportunity to bridge political divides rather than inflame them. But I think that as a country, we need to start coming back together, and I think beer is something thats always brought people back together, and I think this commercial is a good way to start that discussion again, bringing folks together that will love the commercial, regardless of what your political background is, he said, before driving home the point with a simple cultural test: I mean, how can you hate Eagles? How can you hate Clydesdales? How can you hate Lynyrd Skynyrd? This is a good way to bring people back together and do it over a good cold beer.
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