Brewer Anheuser-Busch wants your can of Bud Light to smell like team spirit.
The beer that famously touts the “Real Men of Genius” ads is using a different tactic this month with tailgaters and college sports fans nationwide, putting college team colors — including the Terrapins’ signature red and black — on Bud Light cans just in time for football season.
“The Fan Can program provides Bud Light packaging in color schemes to connect with fans of legal drinking age in fun ways in select markets across a variety of sports,” said Carol Clark, the company’s vice president for corporate social responsibility, in a statement.
But the university has joined the ranks of targeted colleges that don’t see it as much fun at all, crying foul at the campaign’s alleged copyright infringement and the alleged focus on college-age students, many of whom are under 21.
“These cans carry no third-party logos, names or other proprietary identifiers,” Clark said.
“Like all of our beers, these cans are sold through licensed retailers where consumers must be 21 or older to purchase the product.”
Joe Ebaugh, director of trademark licensing at the university, said The Collegiate Licensing Company alerted him to the campaign early this month. Ebaugh then collaborated with the legal office and university counsel Anne Bowden to write a letter to Anheuser-Busch, asking them to end the program immediately.
“We thought that the campaign was ill-placed, ill-thought out,” Ebaugh said. “Personally, I don’t think Anheuser-Busch has any trouble selling beer, and I don’t think they need to use any association with Maryland colors. We felt that the colors give a look of university endorsement, and we didn’t want to have any association whatsoever in that respect.”
Anheuser-Busch’s written reply stated, “The Fan Cans program in such color combinations will be ended in your community in the near future,” but also emphasized the company’s “legal right to market its beer under its famous Bud Light trademark in cans bearing color combinations also used by the University of Maryland.”
“The letter was a little ambiguous,” Ebaugh said of the reply. “I have a feeling by that language … that the cans have come into the marketplace but won’t be reissued.”
Some area liquor stores such as College Park Liquors plan to stock the red-and-black beer cans soon, while Town Hall Tavern and others are still waiting on word from Anheuser-Busch. Ebaugh said he also sent all local distributors letters asking them to exercise restraint, adding that he understands stores will have to sell the products if they receive them.
Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Warren Kelley said he objects to Anheuser-Busch’s tactics.
“Essentially what I think they’re doing is they’re trying to tap into students’ and other people’s inherent allegiance to the school, to school spirit, to our athletic teams, and all those things are positive dimensions of how we think of our school community,” he said.
“The beer companies want to tap into that allegiance by associating it with their beer. I think that’s inherently wrong.”
Meanwhile, student and alumni reactions are mixed.
“It’d just be showing our pride for the Maryland fans and supporting Bud Light, too, which is something I like,” said Chris Ramirez, a 2009 graduate.
Others like sophomore letters and sciences major Tyler Dolan remain ambivalent.
“I don’t really care,” Dolan said. “Because I probably would buy it, but it doesn’t really matter.”
Junior business major Andy Arias said the cans would make good collectibles, if nothing else.
“Why not?” asked freshman psychology major Ellie Cappetta. “If we can have everything from socks to, like … everything, why not beer cans?”
aisaacs at umdbk dot com
