A long-anticipated advertising campaign to promote beer will kick-off this summer, although not all of the team will be on the field.
The campaign has been in discussion for months among industry leaders. The kick-off was announced at the annual Beer Institute (BI) meeting yesterday and will be driven by the BI along with the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Brewers Association. But two members of the BI will not participate, at least for now. MillerCoors has said that due to the ABI “corn gate” assault, they not be at the table. “We love the concept. We are all for anything that can lift the category,” MillerCoors spokesman Adam Collins stated in an Ad Age article. But “we can’t re-engage on the campaign until Anheuser-Busch stops their category denigration campaign,” Collins said.
Heineken will also not engage until “everyone comes to the table.”
So, for now, a national campaign to elevate beer’s sagging sales appears to be short-handed. Stay tuned to see when, and if, MC and Heineken join in.