BUSINESS ETHICS

Anheuser-Busch


Corporate Social Responsibility in marketing and
advertising









ABSTRACT
Anheuser-Busch

Author Note:




The area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a constantly evolving field with direct impact
on an organizations strategies and success, and it has become an important part of how the
beer making industry promotes and advertises itself. Current portrayals of corporate social
responsibility in the beer making industry are misleading and do not show the true nature of
these practices. Relatively little research has been conducted on how the beer making industry
promotes corporate social responsibility in their attempt to promote and facilitate other
business interests. This case study will attempt to investigate the beer making industrys recent
corporate social responsibility endeavors and engagements and explain how they run in
concurrence or adjacent to the industrys political and corporate strategies.


Anheuser-Busch

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Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. is an American brewing company and a wholly owned
subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). The company operates 13 breweries in the
United States and became the largest brewer in the United States in 1957. They also currently have
four of the top ten selling beers and rank as one of the top five consumer products companies
in the world. Anheuser-Busch International, Inc. was established in 1981 as a subsidiary
responsible for the company's international operations and equity investments. Their stance on
responsible drinking is moderation, but their advertising pushes the promotion of their product
to the limits. It has been increasingly difficult to discern what exactly they are marketing in their
responsibility campaigns; responsibility, or their product. They have been advertising and
promoting alcohol responsibility for 30 years. They promoted their Know When to Say When
campaign in 1982 and have spent more than 980 million dollars on advertising and other
programs in an attempt to promote the discouragement of underage drinking and drunk
driving. (2013 Anheuser) In all their efforts to convey drinking responsibly, they fail to
successfully construe all of the dangers of drinking and the situations which are deemed most
unhealthy. Much of their advertising deflects responsibility away from themselves, as in the
case of drinking during pregnancy where they proclaim that the government recommends that
pregnant women should not drink, but never proclaim to take that stance for themselves. They
have good reason to want to protect their own consumers. They are after all, the future to their
own sustainability. Understandably, Anheuser-Busch prides themselves on producing and
providing a quality product and understands that the survival of their business in the long run,
could hinge on the factors pertaining to use or misuse of their products. They believe that the
majority of consumers are responsible with their product, which is debatable, but claim that
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they will get better business out of their beer drinkers using their product more frequently and
responsibly than by a few people who abuse them occasionally. (2013 Anheuser)
All beer makers, including Anheuser-Busch, love to claim social responsibility and
responsible advertising, but can any advertising campaign that promotes the consumption of
alcohol truly be socially responsible? The key to socially responsibility may be intertwined with
a beer manufacturers image and the advertising itself. An individual can only judge on his or
her own moral perspective when answering these questions, but an organization has an
obligation to advertise responsibly and run responsible ads for the sake of their survival and the
protection of the consumer.
The advantages of conducting responsible advertising for us as a society arent hard to
imagine or even define, but as of now, there are no published outlines to define what
constitutes responsible advertising, and the deficit of such a definition makes it harder for
stakeholders to discern what is and isnt considered acceptable in regards to responsible
advertising. (M.Hyman)
Anheuser-Busch took a step into the direction of promoting their responsibility
campaign by launching their Budweiser Designate a Driver Blimp campaign. This campaign
was the first ever blimp to be flown in the United States that advertises social responsibility to
drinking, but essentially, the blimp is a big floating billboard sign. It is intended to be flown over
various venues and sporting events across the U.S. to advocate the safe and responsible use of
alcohol, but Anheuser-Busch clearly understands the role of advertising to their overall success.
Anheuser-Busch clearly maintains and advertises an advocacy of responsible drinking, but is
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that that the underlying message? When it comes to advertising, they maintain a strong stance
to ensure they do not depict situations where beer is being consumed excessively, but they also
make strong statements and push to promote their own brand. They dont portray abstinence
or drinking in moderation in negative ways and they dont associate any violent, abusive or
excessive behavior with their product, but they also dont do enough to separate their alcohol
consuming advertisements from their regular product promotions and they dont do enough to
portray all of the risks of alcohol use. (2013 Anheuser)
Misleading and incomplete message advertising isnt the only problem. Some direct
accusations have been made as to the intended target of some of their advertising. In 2007,
Anheuser-Busch distributed a new alcoholic beverage that seemed to target young adults. It
was a flavored malt liquor called Spykes. It was colorful and made available in several flavors,
including mango, lime, melon and chocolate, spicy mango and hot melons. Each bottle was only
two ounces in size, but each one contained 12% alcohol. It was pulled from production when
the labeling of the product was determined to be illegal and Anheuser-Busch was accused of
targeting underage drinkers. Anheuser-Busch insists that it only advertises and markets alcohol
to adults, and deflects any responsibility for underage drinking. They accuse parents as being
the source of alcohol for underage drinking. (2013 Anheuser)

Another concern is the placement of or lack of acceptable warning labels, both on and
of individual containers. There are of course, legal obligations that must be provided to
potential consumers, such as the warnings on the labels of beer bottles offering warnings about
the product and encouraging people to drink responsibly. These messages are meant to inform
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consumers of product risks prior to usage. There have been numerous studies performed in
regards to providing warnings about alcohol use, but the warnings dont seem to increase or
decrease the use of alcohol much. One potential problem is that it seems that people just dont
notice them. They dont stand out enough and are at least partially hidden on the products or
in the literature in which they are advertised. The need for these warning labels is not in
dispute and they are needed for many reasons. The most obvious reason should be to ensure
people are informed of the safety or lack thereof concerning a product. People need to know
what their risk levels are. What if a potential consumer doesnt discover a warning label? A lot
of experts believe that if that is the case, then the warnings were obviously not communicated
effectively on the product or in the media used to advertise it. (Torres)

Theres no doubt that Anheuser-Busch, among other players in the beer industry have
worked at great depth to expand their corporate responsibility initiatives, but there is a
difference of opinion about the value and sincerity of them. Their mere involvement in the
advertising of responsible drinking has actually been the biggest point of contention in their
responsibility advertising. It is debated that while advertising recommends and encourages
beer drinkers to take the initiative to drink responsibly, these advertisements can be construed
as a conflict of interest by the beer industry and is viewed as their attempt to expand the
marketing of their own brand instead. Its no secret that a business most basic level of
responsibility is to make a profit after all, and that relies heavily on advertising and marketing
to promote their brand, but it can also be debated that advertising and marketing is not
effective and even becomes counter-productive and ineffective when provided by the very
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same company that is advocating drinking responsibly. Therefore, many think that the beer
making industry should not even be involved in promoting responsible drinking while they are
pushing the social responsibility in alcohol use agenda. Of course, there is significant push back
from the advocates of the industry. They infer that the opposite is true; that there are
significant advantages to having the same entity both produce the product and provide the
advertisements that advocate responsibility when drinking. Anheuser-Busch specifically,
advocates the dual role of production and responsible advertising and in 2011, invested $32
million dollars to advertise drinking responsibly. (Cooper)
Since we are currently devoid of regulations prohibiting the practice of having the same
company both produce and promote responsibility in consuming their product, both the result
and effectiveness are left to interpretation. The nature of advertising drinking responsibly is to
educate consumers and get them to practice the act. In reality, promoting responsible drinking
counteracts the promotion of their brand and negatively affects their product advertising. It
could be argued that beer makers are coercing the market by promoting and encouraging
responsible drinking with any alcoholic product so they can deflect any responsibility for the
negative behaviors arising from alcohol use. (Ringold)
Another possible issue is advertisements that advocate the practice of having a
designated driver, which could be misconstrued as condoning excessive alcohol use, especially
among younger people. As the industry advocates the use of designated drivers, they actually
condone excessive use by the non-drivers in the groups. That clearly puts the onus for the
groups safety on the designated driver and deflects responsibility for negative behaviors arising
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from alcohol use away from the producers. This is yet another advertisement that benefits beer
makers. It is quite evident that responsibility advertising initiatives that are fielded and
promoted by the very makers of those products are conflicting in nature, especially in the case
of driving while intoxicated. . (Ringold)
So now its no secret; product and brand marketing and responsibility advertising should
not be conducted by the same company and it just doesnt make sense to allow it. It is quite
simply, a conflict of interest. It seems ever increasingly impossible for the advertising to remain
impartial while also ensuring that the companys motives are clear and unquestionable. There
just isnt enough clarity. Typically, these advertisements are vague and dont express the
product risks of use effectively. Responsibility advertising is meant recommend the use of
alcohol in moderation, not to stop alcohol consumption altogether, yet these advertisements
are still controversial. It is widely suspected that the main purpose is to promote company
products and protect their reputation and not convey information to protect and promote
public health. Perhaps the biggest indicator of the disparity is the huge financial differences
between promoting responsibility and product advertising. There are some concerns that
internally promoted responsibility advertising is less effective than if it were done by outside
agencies. (Hastings)
It is becoming more apparent that the farther and deeper the producers of beer and
other alcohol products delve into the realm of corporate social responsibility, the more the
need for society to counteract it. It simply cant be allowed for this industry to continue to
advertise and promote their product under the guise of corporate social responsibility. These
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efforts to claim an increased assumption of responsibility on their part is really them passing
the buck and deflecting responsibility away from them while underhandedly promoting their
products to our young adults and nations youth and it is becoming ever harder to maintain
control of alcohol related incidents as a result. Without an emphasis on corporate social
responsibility, Anheuser-Busch would fail to remain a viable player in their market. It has
become ingrained into their image. Their efforts in adopting measures to promote corporate
social responsibility are not without merit. They have resulted in a greater public knowledge of
issues related to alcohol and alcohol use. It has at least increased competition in their industry
to institute strategies related to corporate social responsibility, but their underlying motives are
still suspicious. (Hastings)
For the beer making industry, corporate social responsibility is vital to their success.
Competition between beer making rivals to establish and promote responsible advertising and
marketing has become a key component in their viability and survival. It could be argued that
the primary focus of corporate social responsibility is not to protect society, but rather the
company shareholders and even that this ethical behavior is the main reason a company is able
to sustain operations of even thrive. Without it, they most assuredly would struggle to survive.
The will to adhere to these standards may come about for many different reasons, be it safety,
or success, but when a company aims to protect customers and society in general in their social
responsibility campaigns, instead of merely acting in the best interest of their own organization,
they have taken a higher moral and ethical stance. (Spitzer)
Anheuser-Busch

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While the final result is debatable, it is clearly evident that Anheuser-Busch leads the
way for social responsibility in the beer making industry and their efforts to convey responsible
drinking practices are substantial. The sheer volume of responsible advertising conveying
responsible drinking is staggering and the money spent on it is mind blowing. It proves that
these issues are of high concern to the leadership at Anheuser-Busch and their rivals. One thing
can be certain, regardless of the skepticism concerning their motives, Anheuser-Busch has put
forth tremendous efforts to push social responsibility. Stringer efforts are needed to
differentiate their product marketing from their social responsibility messages, as they need to
be completely separated from the process in order to better discourage drinking irresponsibly.
It takes bravery and moral desire to not only claim accountability and responsibility, but to take
it and adhere to it. The bottom line shouldnt be the final answer. The health and welfare of our
society and the sustainment of their business depends on it.








Anheuser-Busch

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References

1. M. Hyman (2009) Responsible Ads: A Workable Ideal
Journal of Business Ethics, 87
199210 DOI 10.1007/s10551-008-9879-9

2. Torres, Ivonne M; Sierra, Jeremy J; Heiser, Robert S, (2007) THE EFFECTS OF WARNING-LABEL
PLACEMENT IN PRINT ADS: A Social Contract Perspective, 36.2
49-62. Journal of Advertising
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1DC083/22?accountid=8067

3. Cooper, Ben (2012) Encouraging Responsible Consumption - Part II - Responsible Consumption
Messaging, just - drinks global news [Bromsgrove]
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B1DC083/34?accountid=8067

4. Ringold, Debra Jones, (2008) RESPONSIBILITY AND BRAND ADVERTISING IN THE ALCOHOLIC
BEVERAGE MARKET: The Modeling of Normative Drinking Behavior, 37.1
127-141. Journal of Advertising
http://search.proquest.com.library.esc.edu/abicomplete/docview/236578381/140048E7D3D4B
1DC083/118?accountid=8067

5. Hastings, Gerard; Angus, Kathryn, (2011) When is social marketing not social marketing? 1.1
45-53. Journal of Social Marketing
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6. 2013 Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC. One Busch Place.
http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-company/

7. Spitzer, Randy (2010) Is Social Responsibility Good? 33.3
13-17 The Journal for Quality and Participation
http://search.proquest.com.library.esc.edu/abicomplete/docview/838952704/1403119E48EB96
C1F1/69?accountid=8067