With the Super Bowl just around the corner, it only seems appropriate to discuss the second case study in chapter three: “Tailgate Approved? The Rise and Fall of the Fan Can.”
This Case Study revolves around the 2009 Bud Light promotion that had beer cans color-coordinate with school colors from several universities nationwide. This promotion was controversial because some believed that it went against the industry standard of only running ads “where the target intended audience is made up of at least 70% of those older than 21.” School administrators did not like the promotion because they believe that it promoted underage drinking, and that despite no association with the university, the schools color connection made it look like the schools supported the Fan Can. According to Anheuser-Busch (AB), “the promotion was neither college-specific nor team-specific, and the only correlation to sports was the promotion’s launch time. Instead, the campaign was a promotion for the brand in general.”In the end, the company pulled some college markets and the promotion continued to run despite some “bad” press.
To analyze this case, I turned to the Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics. PRSA was chartered in 1947 and has since become one of the largest organizations for public relations professionals. Their code of Ethics includes real scenario examples and includes helpful guidelines for the profession. I imagined myself working for Anheuser-Busch attempting to bring up the sales of Bud Light and how I would react to the university administration.
As we have learned in our class previously, when it comes to the legal matters of a situation, leave it to the police. Underage college drinking is not uncommon at any university. I believe that AB (like everyone else) was well aware of this, which is why they said, “If you’re 21 and older and choose to drink, please drink responsibly. If you’re under 21, respect the law; don’t drink." I don’t believe that AB did anything wrong by running this promotion in the areas that they did. I am not saying that I condone underage drinking and I understand the concerns of university administration, however, there comes a point where they have to acknowledge that it is going to happen whether they like it or not.
Most of the universities that Bud Light was targeting are the schools that have a large sport following outside of the university population. Take Boston College for example. Yes, there are several students that attend the games, but there are also upperclassman (many of whom are of age), alumnae, season ticket holders, Boston sport fans, community members all of whom are over 21. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to add festiveness to their tailgating parties? In the PRSA code of Ethics it states to be respectful and fair among other professionals. This campaign did not slander any other beer company instead they came up with a clever way to sell their own product.
When it comes to the issue of loyalty, the PRSA states, “We are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation to serve the public interest.” I believe that AB accomplished this when they cooperated with the universities and addressed their concerns by pulling their campaign from those markets. Although it had caused some negative press when universities spoke their concerns, they were able to pull the campaign (which made the universities happy) yet still generated enough word of mouth buzz to increase their sales (which made the company happy.) They pulled the campaign before the stories were too negative and went to prove that any press, even negative press, can be good press.
The code of ethics helped me confirm that AB had acted responsibly and if I worked for them, I would feel comfortable with the whole situation. However, does one need to follow a different set of ethical guidelines when it comes to something like alcohol? After all, even though it is legal to consume if you are 21, it is still a drug? Knowing that there are millions of underage drinkers in America, who primarily binge drink, should this have been more of a concern for the company? Unfortunately, I am not too sure if this is an ethical dilemma or more of a moral dilemma so I am not sure if any Code of ethics would help answer this.
To analyze this case, I turned to the Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics. PRSA was chartered in 1947 and has since become one of the largest organizations for public relations professionals. Their code of Ethics includes real scenario examples and includes helpful guidelines for the profession. I imagined myself working for Anheuser-Busch attempting to bring up the sales of Bud Light and how I would react to the university administration.
As we have learned in our class previously, when it comes to the legal matters of a situation, leave it to the police. Underage college drinking is not uncommon at any university. I believe that AB (like everyone else) was well aware of this, which is why they said, “If you’re 21 and older and choose to drink, please drink responsibly. If you’re under 21, respect the law; don’t drink." I don’t believe that AB did anything wrong by running this promotion in the areas that they did. I am not saying that I condone underage drinking and I understand the concerns of university administration, however, there comes a point where they have to acknowledge that it is going to happen whether they like it or not.
When it comes to the issue of loyalty, the PRSA states, “We are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation to serve the public interest.” I believe that AB accomplished this when they cooperated with the universities and addressed their concerns by pulling their campaign from those markets. Although it had caused some negative press when universities spoke their concerns, they were able to pull the campaign (which made the universities happy) yet still generated enough word of mouth buzz to increase their sales (which made the company happy.) They pulled the campaign before the stories were too negative and went to prove that any press, even negative press, can be good press.
The code of ethics helped me confirm that AB had acted responsibly and if I worked for them, I would feel comfortable with the whole situation. However, does one need to follow a different set of ethical guidelines when it comes to something like alcohol? After all, even though it is legal to consume if you are 21, it is still a drug? Knowing that there are millions of underage drinkers in America, who primarily binge drink, should this have been more of a concern for the company? Unfortunately, I am not too sure if this is an ethical dilemma or more of a moral dilemma so I am not sure if any Code of ethics would help answer this.
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