Drinking dishwater in your underwear

7/4/2006

While the feeling in the west may be “long live the King of Beers!”, Budweiser in Germany is being met more often with a cry of “off with its head!”

German soccer fans have been treating the self-proclaimed “King” like more of a pauper during this year’s World Cup tournament, and have not been shy in letting everyone know just how little they think of the popular American brew.

The makers of “Bud”, Anheuser-Busch, paid $40 million for "pouring rights" at 12 stadiums across Germany during this summer's World Cup.

The problem is, Germans hate Budweiser.

Weeks before the first games even kicked off the event, Germans were furious at the prospect of having to sit in stadiums and drink what they refer to as "dishwater”. Websites were set up, complete with images of an American Eagle vomiting beer as a tribute to the beer, and one site went so far as to call Budweiser "an insult to all true beer lovers" and an "insult to your tongue."

Soccer's governing body, FIFA, did nothing to improve Budweiser's standing when it forced thousands of Dutch fans to watch the first round Holland vs. Ivory Coast game in their underwear.

Close to a quarter million Dutch fans had purchased new shorts, in the country’s trademark orange, to support their team. The shorts included the logo of the Dutch beer Bavaria and, in a brazen move to protect Budweiser's rights, FIFA officials forced Dutch supporters to remove their shorts.

You see, the World Cup is a marketer's dream.

More than a billion people watched the 2002 final between Brazil and Germany, and it is estimated a total of 32 billion viewers will watch this year's tournament, thanks to an estimated audience of 350 million soccer fans tuning in to each match.

Such titanic audiences are the reason companies will spend $1 billion in advertising before the tournament's end. Budweiser is expected to spend $70 million, more than at the Super Bowl and Olympics.

Simply put, the World Cup is the number one beer consumer event in the world. In an effort to appease insulted drinkers, Budweiser did cut a deal to allow German-made Bitburger beer to be sold in stadiums, albeit in unmarked cups.

Historically speaking, Germans like their beer.

There are more than 1,200 breweries in the country, and Budweiser represents less than one per cent of the market share in Germany. In a country filled with so many options for suds, the King of Beers is rather low on Hans and Franz’ list.

I, on the other hand, am not quite as discerning.With no hope of getting through 1,200 local beers, I would be happy to sit in the sun, and suck down a dishwater or two in my underwear.

Who knows, I might even try it in this country.