Fully Krausened Girly Men

When it comes to beer, business disputes and bickering via P-O-P, Al Capone set the high-water mark when his boys tommy-gunned Bugs Moran's speakeasy. But the recent in-store dust-up between Miller Brewing and Anheuser-Busch has made for, at the very least, some entertaining reading. Better yet, I think it signifies the importance being placed on the in-store environment as an advertising medium by CPG marketers. (But OK, you're right. It's mostly just entertaining reading.) On May 28, Miller Brewing sued Anheuser-Busch in Milwaukee U.S. District Court charging, among other things, that in the run-up to the big Memorial Day selling holiday, A-B and its distributors were placing Budweiser-themed labels and signs ("All light beers are low in carbs. Choose on Taste.") on Miller Lite cases and displays. (See attached photos.) The lawsuit also claimed that A-B engaged in deceptive advertising when it stated (in print ads and on P-O-P materials) that Miller is "owned by South African Breweries." The suit further argued that A-B was "degrading" Miller's products by referring in print ads and P-O-P materials to Miller Lite as "The Queen of Carbs." The two beer giants have been feuding via TV commercials all year. A-B's tagline, "King of Beers," was countered by Miller's "President of Beers." When Miller's patriotic presidential candidate started picking on a Clydesdale in one commercial, A-B dusted off its animatronic lizard Louie to fire back with snide remarks about Miller's national origins. In true playground fashion, a challenge to the other company's "manhood" was printed. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before one of these CEOs issued a "Yo Mama's So Fat" press release.While TV is still considered the mass medium, I do think it's significant that Miller evidently felt compelled to take its beefs before a judge only when these taglines started showing up in stores. The newspaper reports and press releases were short on P-O-P specifics. In fact, we had a heckuva time getting anyone at either company to comment. Luckily, we got our hands on the court filings, in which Miller's complaint laid it on the line: "Pursuant to a company-wide campaign to destroy recent market share gains by Miller Brewing Company in the premium light beer segment, Anheuser-Busch, through its distributors has intentionally and physically defaced products sold by Miller Brewing Company (and particularly its Miller Lite brand). Specifically, Anheuser-Busch's distributors have affixed adhesive stickers advertising one of Anheuser-Busch's products directly onto the labels of Miller Lite cases, cans, bottles, and/or advertising materials, thereby causing confusion in the marketplace and denigrating the 'Miller Lite' mark." Miller says the in-store tampering by distributors was the result of prodding by A-B. Miller told the court that on May 20, A-B's vice president of sales asked its distributors to watch a broadcast on A-B's in-house network that would outline its response, called "Unleash the Dawgs." Miller also stated that in a memo to these distributors, executives declared "it's time to show Miller the power of the Anheuser-Busch team."Once P-O-P Times learned of the case, we sent editors out hunting for examples of tampering throughout the Chicagoland and New York metro areas, but came up empty-handed. According to affidavits, a Miller senior marketing manager said his salespeople found advertising inserts from A-B placed directly into Miller Lite cases and packages in various Wal-Mart and Food Lion stores in Richmond, Va. Another Miller employee found similar tampering in stores in California's San Fernando Valley. From the court documents, one senses that it was the "Queen of Carbs" angle that had Miller exceptionally p.o.'d: "The ad attempts to denigrate Miller Lite by associating it with feminine traits that are known to be unappealing to the important male demographic among beer consumers. The clear import of the ad, as evidenced by statements of Anheuser-Busch officials in the media, is that 'Miller Lite' is for 'girly men.' A second disparaging message is the not-so-subtle appeal to homophobic tendencies among certain male beer drinkers. The term 'Queen' has connotations that Anheuser-Busch has apparently attempted to crassly capitalize on."While I'm not taking sides in this beer feud (my candidate for Wisconsin's drink of choice is the Brandy Old-Fashioned), Miller has a point. I happen to believe that P-O-P is a powerful influencer. A-B may claim, coyly, that this particular P-O-P message was just an innocent play on words, but everyone -- including your average, intoxicated Saturday-night gay-bashing meathead -- gets it. This is sadly ironic because A-B has been admirably progressive in its marketing to minority communities. Budweiser sponsored the first gay-pride rainbow P-O-P I ever saw, and A-B has even been boycotted by some extreme right-wing organizations for their commendable efforts.A-B, in its memo opposing Miller's request for an injunction, focused predominantly on the South African-origin claims. The judge eventually made a technical ruling on this point, barring ad materials with the phrase "owned by South African Breweries" because that statement was literally false. However, the judge is allowing -- for the time being, at least -- the use of a phrase that describes Miller Lite as "South African owned" since it is unclear exactly how much of Miller is owned by South African investors. As for the P-O-P tampering, A-B essentially said it would stop doing what it's not doing. While denying pretty much everything, A-B told the judge "that it would not place stickers" on any Miller product or display, and that it will tell its distributors "that any such practices should end immediately."However, the judge is letting the "Queen of Carbs" campaign stand. Hopefully, A-B itself will just let it go.

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