Budweiser could pay price for being "America's Beer"

By Paul Thomasch - Analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Budweiser spends nearly half a billion dollars a year promoting itself as America's beer -- a pitch that could soon get a lot tougher to make.

For decades, St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has pushed its Budweiser and Bud Light brands to mainstream America with an award-winning mix of campaigns that are hardly subtle in their patriotism.

The company uses red, white and blue as its colors; it employs soldiers, Clydesdale horses, and stock cars in its advertising. One past slogan announced: "American owned. Brewed here. Born here." A current ad declares that its beer is a "Great American Lager."

The branding may not be so easy to maintain if Anheuser-Busch is taken over by Belgium's InBev NV INTB.BR, which has made a roughly $46 billion bid for its U.S. rival.

"They would most certainly not abandon their position, but certainly they are going to have a tough time," said Kevin Swanepoel, a veteran ad executive and currently president of The One Club, a nonprofit group that awards advertising achievements.

Already websites have cropped up calling for the public to apply pressure to keep the company out of InBev's hands. One, www.saveAB.com, declares, "Anheuser-Busch is an American original ... Now, our city, our state, our nation and our workers are being threatened with the loss of A-B to foreign investors."

'GUYS MAKE BEER'

Among the notable ads from Anheuser-Busch in recent years is the Super Bowl spot that ran after September 11, 2001, that showed its famous Clydesdale horses bowing in tribute to the victims of the attack.