Budweiser inadvertently wades into immigration debate with moving Super Bowl ad
U.S. brewers and Canadian airline Air Canada are gaining attention for ads that champion immigrant stories
U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch has found itself in an accidental scandal this week after its long-planned Super Bowl ad with a pro-immigration story has been perceived to be an attack on the new U.S. president's policies.
The 60-second ad called "Born the Hard Way" shows Anheuser-Busch co-founder Adolphus Busch travelling by boat from Germany to the U.S. in 1850s. He goes through travails including jumping off a burning boat and catching a glimpse of Anheuser-Bush's Clydesdales mascots, before meeting fellow immigrant Eberhard Anheuser.
The Super Bowl at the NRG Stadium in Houston between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons airs Sunday on Fox. But the ads for Budweiser beer are as big a story as the game most years, because they offer a glimpse into the culture and are a great way to draw brand awareness during one of the most-watched television events of the year.
The Budweiser ad this year is being singled out for having such an uncharacteristic — if accidental — political tone.
Ricardo Marques, vice president of Budweiser, in a statement said the company has been working on the ad since May.
"The powerful thing about the story is the fact that it's a human story and the human dream resonating," he said.
"Of course, it would be foolish to think the current context is not putting additional eyeballs (on the ad), but that was absolutely the not the intent and not what makes the spot as special as it is.
"On Super Bowl Sunday, we want to bring people together in bars across the nation — that's who we are."
Backlash possible
Author and speaker Scott Stratten, president of Unmarketing, accepts the company's story that the ad's concept and even execution predates the current furor over immigration.
"But intent almost doesn't matter," he said in an interview with CBC News. "It's perception."
And the perception is that Budweiser has taken a side in the current debate. That's rare for such a massive, generic brand to do, he said.
"I think it's going to hurt them with a lot of Americans who voted for Trump, a lot of whom drink Budweiser," Stratten said.
"Someone's going to lose out, and I don't think it's going to be the Trump fans walking away from him."
Despite the brewer's intention to appeal to U.S. patriotism, it's hard to ignore the connection, said Jeanine Poggi, media reporter for trade publication Advertising Age.
"Come Super Bowl, it's probably going to be one of the more talked-about ads given the debate over refugee rights, regardless of Budweiser's attempt never to respond to any sort of political climate," she said.
Air Canada wades in
While it's not a Super Bowl ad, the topic of immigration and Syrian refugees also features prominently in a digital ad released by Air Canada this week.
In it, the airline follows the story of a Syrian refugee family and how the airline helped them go from a camp in Turkey through Montreal and on to connect with family members in Victoria.
While the ad isn't obviously tied to the Super Bowl or the current U.S. political climate, it has gained attention for its handling of the topic of the same topic that Budweiser touches on — which is the sort of campaign that can draw unintended consequences on social media.
As Stratten said of Budweiser's move: "There's no way they're going to get around the fact that this will be taken as a shot across the bow of what's happening."
With files from The Associated Press and Meegan Read