In the face of declining sales, Budweiser is considering different strategies to increase consumption among younger drinkers, including replacing the iconic Clydesdale horses in its holiday ads with rapper Jay-Z.
"This is a very considered, long-term view of what will turn around the brand," Brian Perkins, Anheuser-Busch InBev's vice president of marketing, told
The Wall Street Journal.
The supremacy of Budweiser in the beer market has been weakening because of the popularity of light beers and an influx of new craft beers.
Bud Light moved past Budweiser as the No. 1-selling beer in 2001, and a decade later, Coors Light pushed it to No. 3, according to the Journal.
After failed attempts to recover market share by appealing to consumers of all ages, the brewer is now planning to focus its marketing almost exclusively on the 21-to-27 age bracket.
The company reports that almost half of that demographic has never even tried Budweiser.
"You look around, and we have this huge group of young drinkers, almost half of them have never tried the brand," Eric Shepard, of Beer Marketer's Insights, tells the
St. Louis Post Dispatch.
So, gone are the Clydesdales, and Budweiser holiday ads will feature young people encouraging their hometown friends to "Round Up Your Buds."
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The brewer also is changing its approach for the Super Bowl, announcing plans to debut the
Bud Light House of Whatever, which is described as a three-day "fully immersive experience of unforgettable parties, amazing concerts and signature activities."
The
Clydesdales made their first appearance on April 7, 1933, when August A. Busch Jr. and Adolphus Busch III gave their father, August A. Busch Sr., a six-horse Clydesdale hitch as a gift to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition, according to the company website.