On the surface, Bud.tv makes a lot of sense for Inside Value selection Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD). The company has produced some of the best commercials ever seen and an inexpensive, easy-to-produce website seems like a great way to continue that tradition. If all goes well it could even be a less expensive and more efficient way of marketing.
As an unabashed lover of some of Bud's spots over the years, I was looking forward to taking a look at what the company had put together. As soon as I arrived at the site my curiosity was crushed by a required registration page. I'm guessing most folks are like me and don't want to cough up their personal information to watch a few video clips on a website when we can go to any number of websites or turn on our television without the hassle.
The problem for Anheuser-Busch, Molson-Coors (NYSE:TAP), Altria (NYSE:MO), Ambev (NYSE:ABV), and anyone else in the business of selling sinful products is that they're never going to be able to put such an offering together without doing some form of age verification, which is what the registration is really for. Even if a majority of the content is not product-specific, an ad campaign that might draw in minors and attract them to these products is never going to fly in this country. I can't say I disagree with the status quo either. It's just the reality of marketing these products in this country.
The good news for shareholders is that this venture into online video and attempt at viral marketing likely didn't cost much in comparison to the company's mammoth marketing budget. I'd say it's a good sign that the company is trying to reach customers via new mediums. This effort isn't panning out, but eventually Anheuser-Busch will probably figure out something that will.
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At the time of publication Nathan Parmelee had no financial interest in any of the companies mentioned. Nathan also remembers a friend at a previous job getting a tongue lashing from management on the inappropriateness of his Budweiser Frogs screen saver. He was ranked 29th out of 24,745 Motley Fool CAPS investors. The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy.
