The king of beers is tapping into American patriotism, kicking its iconic “Budweiser” name and logo off the can for the summer and rebranding it “America.”
Because of its wide use, there is no trademark on America—giving the company the right to use the name on the front of its 12-oz. cans and bottle. The “America is in Your Hands” campaign also modifies Budweiser’s label, adding patriotic phrases sampled from the Pledge of Allegiance and lyrics from “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful.”
Budweiser, owned by Belgian-Based Anheuser-Busch InBev, has a long tradition of using patriotic packaging. The change in particular, available in stores from May 23 through mid-September, is timed to carry US consumers through the summer season, including the Fourth of July holiday, the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro and what is likely to be a tumultuous presidential race leading up to the November election.
“Budweiser has always strived to embody America in a bottle, and we’re honored to salute this great nation where our beer has been passionately brewed for the past 140 years,” says Ricardo Marques, vice president of Budweiser.
The new cans and bottles will feature images like a magnified view of the Statue of Liberty’s torch and six Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls. The “Torch” packaging will be available in 16-oz. and 25-oz. cans, along with 16-oz. aluminum bottles.
