Along Madison Avenue in New York, women in revealing clothing have been as typical a pairing for beer as pretzels and brew at the corner bar.
Sex sells suds. Where would Spuds McKenzie have been without his all-female escort in glove-tight dresses?
But this fall, industry behemoth Anheuser-Busch has rolled out a new advertising campaign for its flagship brand, Budweiser, and there isn`t an inch of Lycra in sight.
Yet the change is not as much an effort to improve the images of women in the company`s advertising as it is to extend its appeal to more demographic groups by shifting from a fantasy approach to one that features genuine people, says August Busch IV, director of Budweiser brand marketing.
”It`s a kinder, gentler Bud,” as one industry observer puts it.
And the change may result in more positive portrayals of females: One of the four new TV spots features a woman helping a wheelchair athlete train for a marathon. Another includes a female guitarist.
”This was part of a conscious effort when doing our research across the country to find out what consumers want,” Busch says.
”(We asked) should we put gals in bikinis dancing around holding Buds, and they said no.”
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