E-Malt.com News article: USA: Anheuser-Busch introduces commemorative Budweiser and Bud Light 12-ounce bottles

Anheuser-Busch announced on December 22 that as anticipation for professional football’s championship game builds in the Motor City, the nation’s largest brewer fuels the excitement by introducing commemorative Budweiser and Bud Light 12-ounce bottles featuring gridiron graphics and the Bud Bowl Detroit logo.

The bottles feature shrink-wrapped packaging that is relatively new to the U.S. brewing industry. Anheuser-Busch has utilized the process on only a handful of its brands to date, including Budweiser, BE and Bud Light. The process allows marketers to utilize the entire package—from crown to base—to display customized graphics and messaging.

The packaging—available from Dec. 26 – Feb. 5 in the Motor City, features the Detroit cityscape in a silver football on a textured pigskin background.

Anheuser-Busch breweries in Baldwinsville, N.Y., and St. Louis are brewing and packaging Budweiser and Bud Light in the commemorative bottles. The bottles are filled, then file through a labeler where a plastic sleeve drops over and conforms to the shape of the bottles.

Approximately 3.7 million collectible Bud Bowl Detroit bottles are destined for Detroit and major cities in Michigan. Sales to retailers are scheduled to begin Dec. 26, and the bottles will be sold in bars, restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores.

Budweiser and Bud Light will also stage two of Detroit’s “must-see” One Night Stand concerts on Feb. 3 - 4 at Club 1620 at Tiger Stadium. Adult consumers 21 and older must have an invitation, obtained through promotions by local radio stations and area bars, clubs and restaurants, to attend the nightly concerts. There will be no tickets available at the door of Club 1620. Musical acts for these Bud Bowl parties will be announced next month.

“As a longtime sponsor of major league sports, Anheuser-Busch is proud to fuel the excitement over the professional football championship game in Detroit,” said Phil Kazer, region vice president, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “The Bud Bowl concerts at Club 1620 at Tiger Stadium and this special packaging are local efforts to reach adult beer drinkers and football fans before the big game.

“Anheuser-Busch has been an integral part of the Detroit social and sports scene for many years. These Bud Bowl concerts, our collectible packaging and all company-sponsored events surrounding the championship weekend are our way of saying thanks to the citizens and sports fans of Detroit for their support through the years. ”

Anheuser-Busch, now in its 18th straight year as the exclusive beer category sponsor of the Super Bowl broadcasts, holds category advertising exclusivity on telecasts through 2006. The company is scheduled to air the equivalent of 10 30-second spots, including the coveted first ad after the opening kickoff during the 2006 game broadcast on ABC.

Bud Bowl 2006 is presented by Budweiser and Bud Light, the world’s best-selling beers. Budweiser has sponsored the Detroit Lions for more than 25 years, and Budweiser and Bud Light are the “official beer sponsors” of 28 of 32 NFL teams locally.


28 December, 2005