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Remember when Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris complained the Brewers Association was dividing the beer industry last year? Ha!

February 6, 2019Keith Gribbins

It’s impressive to see how much bad press Corn Syrupgate 2019 has generated for Anheuser-Busch. Both of this year’s Super Bowl Bud Light commercials continued AB’s Medieval Dilly Dilly theme — one was an impressively violent Game of Thrones mashup and the other was an outright attack on beer using corn syrup — specifically Miller Lite and Coors Light — which are both mentioned in the ad above. The next day almost everyone on the internet debunked the idea that the use of corn syrup is a health or quality concern for beer drinkers (say, compared to alcohol). Also, if you’re looking at calories or carbs, Miller Lite is the way to go.

The ad really does feel like an odd business choice that MillerCoors has only seemed to benefit from. Plus, the company already battles a reputation for questionable business tactics. Doing it no favors: The company is also never afraid to call foul when it feels insulted. Here are two recent examples that include the Brewers Association (the trade group focused on craft beer). Here’s a contentious video called “Six Viewpoints from The High End,” where AB’s craft brands complain that the Brewers Association’s independent seal is unfair, and here’s Anheuser-Busch President and CEO Michel Doukeris apparently complaining with wholesalers that the Brewers Association is continuing to hurt the beer industry by dividing craft beer and Big Beer (specifically at last year’s Craft Brewers Conference). It should also be noted that Doukeris’ letter is in response to a Coors complaint.

Even A-B is praising Pete Coors’ letter to the BA. pic.twitter.com/mXe7zak9Fd

— Harry Schuhmacher (@BeerBizDaily) May 9, 2018

Just a funny/not really funny reminder.

The MillerCoors vs. Anheuser-Busch corn syrup conundrum: Are transformed ingredients still ingredients?
MillerCoors sues Anheuser-Busch over corn syrup ads, as both companies look increasingly desperate to stay relevant
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Can we define a ‘craft brewery’ by tax codes?
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Craft beer gets first Super Bowl ad (but it is Shock Top)

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  1. Michelob Ultra's Pure Gold ads are increasingly creeping me out says:
    February 25, 2019 at 10:30 am

    […] was talking about Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light commercials during the Super Bowl. One was a super violent Game of Thrones mashup, and the other was a not-so-subtle knock on […]

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