Photo credit: PR Newser

Bud Light apologizes for slogan that went too far

Oops! It looks like Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser beers, and it’s advertising team missed the mark in an effort to be hip and edgy and inadvertently found itself on the wrong side in the war against the American “rape culture. The label caused an internet stir.

A Daily Dot writer wrote that in a new ad campaign for Bud Light, the bottler “might have gone a step too far with the YOLO spirit with the introduction of new bottle labels, which are, shall we say, a bit on the rape-y side.”

The Daily Dot reported on the photo of the label that was tweeted by Lucy Leiderman, director of digital strategy and analytics at BBDO, the ad agency responsible for Bud Light’s creative ads. The since deleted tweet read, “Oh no. Bud Light’s new tagline: “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night,” with the photo above.

As the “brew-haha” arose, Ms. Leiderman denied that her agency was responsible for the beer’s packaging.

In response, Anheuser-Busch tweeted their regrets.

Here is their full statement:

“The Bud Light Up for Whatever campaign, now in its second year, has inspired millions of consumers to engage with our brand in a positive and light-hearted way. In this spirit, we created more than 140 different scroll messages intended to encourage brand engagement. It’s clear that this particular message missed the mark, and we regret it. We would never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behavior. As a result, we have immediately ceased production of this message on all bottles.”

And Lisa Weser, Anheuser-Busch’s head of brand communications, in a tweet to Adweek acknowledged that the message clearly missed the mark, and expressed regret.

The Daily Dot points out that the label is “especially offensive in light of Budweiser’s recent ad campaigns, which focus on the need to drink responsibly.” Budweiser having acknowledged their mistake also quickly ceased production of the offensive message on all bottles.