Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Anheuser Busch and Bud Light have a had a long and storied history with regards to advertising. The general sense of advertising is to manage the communication between Anheuser Busch and the target market. Bud Light has found a particular niche in the world of professional sports and goes to great lengths to promote its products there.

Bud Light's first advertising campaign, when it was introduced nationally in 1982, centered around the theme "Bring Out Your Best" and featured the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. 



Not long after the advertising campaigns of the Clydesdales, Bud Light began focusing on campaigns featuring slogans like "Make it a Bud". Thanks to these successful ad campaigns, Bud light became the number one favorite light beer in the United States in 1994.

Today, Anheuser Busch focuses much of its energy and budget towards TV ads and sports sponsorships. If fact, 97% of Bud lights annual budget, which was $350 million dollars, goes towards TV ads. Bud Light is also the official sponsor of the NFL and spends up to $4 million dollars for a 30 second ad spot during the Super Bowl.