Miller Drops Carbs Challenge Against Anheuser-Busch
Miller Brewing Co. has decided to drop its legal challenge against Anheuser-Busch attack ads calling Miller Lite the “Queen of Carbs.”
Miller said the decision was based on its strong sales over the Memorial Day weekend that signaled that the attack ads had not slowed Miller Lite’s momentum, which in May had its ninth consecutive month of volume growth.
A hearing had been set for June 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin for Miller to pursue a preliminary injunction against Anheuser-Busch over the Queen of Carbs campaign.
“We asked for the injunction hearing when we first saw the ads,” said Mike Jones, senior VP-general counsel at Miller, in a statement. “But everything we’ve been seeing so far indicates that the damage being done is probably to Bud. We’re very interested in getting our full attention back on selling beer.”
In a related preliminary injunction hearing at the court on May 28, Judge Lynn Adelman ordered Anheuser-Busch to pull ads from retail that target Miller for being owned by South African breweries. Philip Morris sold Miller to South African Brewers Plc in 2002, which formed a new company called SABMiller Plc, based in London. The ads are part of Anheuser-Busch’s “Unleash the Dawgs” campaign that began May 20. This court case continues.
Anheuser-Busch, which brews Budweiser and Bud Light and is based in St. Louis, MO, is the world’s largest brewer with 50% of the U.S. beer market last year. Miller, the world’s second-largest brewer by volume, based in Milwaukee, had 18%. The two companies have been battling for market share and have become increasingly aggressive in using attack ads to win consumers as the busy summer season gets underway, including both sides calling the other un-American.
