Budweiser Renaming Itself 'America' This Summer

But it's only temporary
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2016 12:03 PM CDT
Budweiser Renaming Itself 'America' This Summer
The new, temporary logo.   (Anheuser-Busch, via Advertising Age)

In an election year filled with the phrase "Make America Great Again," it's perhaps appropriate that Anheuser-Busch InBev is introducing packaging for Budweiser that, as USA Today puts it, is going to "throw some America on it." Per Advertising Age, the company confirmed Tuesday it will be swapping out the labels on its 12-ounce Bud bottles and cans, replacing "Budweiser: King of Beers" with limited-edition labels that say "America," accompanied by "E Pluribus Unum," "Indivisible Since 1776," and, courtesy of Woody Guthrie, "From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, this land was made for you and me." The new labels will start to roll out May 23 and will continue through November, with a goal of "[inspiring] drinkers to celebrate America and Budweiser's shared values of freedom and authenticity," per a press release.

The short-lived packaging for the brand—the third most-popular beer in the US, per the Atlantic—is part of its "America Is in Your Hands" campaign. "We are embarking on what should be the most patriotic summer that this generation has ever seen," the VP of Budweiser says, pointing out Team USA's competition in the Summer Olympics, as well as July Fourth celebrations, the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and June's Copa America Centenario soccer tournament, being held in the US for the first time. "I feel like I'm drinking an artifact bound for a Michael Moore documentary—something that's enjoyable when consumed in an ironic way, with a sort of Stephen Colbert, Team America, Mission Accomplished bravado," writes Mark Wilson for Co.Design. (More Budweiser stories.)

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