USA, St. Louis: has agreed with Anheuser-Busch that SABMiller Brewing’s taste test claims in its ads are “unsubstantiated” and three will be pulled from the air, Anheuser-Busch announced on December 17. The three ads are part of SABMiller’s ongoing attacks against Anheuser-Busch, the No. 1 U.S. brewer, and Bud Light, the best selling beer in the United States.

On Nov. 2, Anheuser-Busch filed formal challenges with all four national television networks against SABMiller’s ad series on the basis that the commercials are misleading. CBS concurred with the challenge to three spots, which alleged SABMiller’s taste test studies comparing its brands to those of Anheuser-Busch used flawed testing that biased results in SABMiller’s favor. The results of the study were the foundation of an advertising campaign that has aired since June.

CBS concluded that these ads are “unduly disparaging of Budweiser and Bud Light,” and two of the ads in which people are shown to be using a bullhorn outside an Anheuser-Busch brewery “convey an unsubstantiated preference claim.” In addition, before SABMiller can again air two other discontinued ads that make claims about on-premise taste challenges in Chicago and St. Louis, the company would need to resolve the issues raised by Anheuser Busch before CBS would again air those spots.

“We are very pleased that CBS agreed with us on SABMiller’s claims and will be pulling these ads,” said Michael J. Owens, vice president of sales and marketing for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “Anheuser-Busch has said all along that SABMiller’s claims are unsubstantiated. By using these shady practices, SABMiller is admitting its products can’t stand up to fair comparisons. SABMiller’s own brewing staff has characterized their beer as more bitter and as having more after-taste, which most light beer consumers don’t prefer. SABMiller has disregarded its consumers by making false claims in its ads.”

The formal challenges asked each network to review a number of SABMiller-produced ads that aired on the networks. In addition, Anheuser-Busch asked that the networks withhold approval for any future spots that are based on the same flawed taste-test study.

“A reputable third-party taste-test expert who examined the tests at Anheuser-Busch’s request concluded SABMiller’s test procedures biased the results in its favor,” said Owens. “Prior to filing its challenges at the networks, Anheuser-Busch first commissioned a nationwide taste test by an independent expert comparing Bud Light with Miller Lite and confirmed that Bud Light is in fact preferred by light beer drinkers.”

Despite SABMiller’s repeated attack ads, Bud Light continues to lead the U.S. beer industry. Since February 2004, Bud Light has increased its case-share lead over Miller Lite in U.S. convenience stores by 2.4 percentage points, and the brand’s case-share lead in supermarkets has grown by 0.7 percentage point (source: IRI data).

“We are more than happy to go head-to-head with our competitors on the basis of facts,” said Owens. “But consumers lose when the truth isn’t told.”

Because SABMiller’s tests used unsound research methods, the results are invalid and the ads should be pulled, the original challenge stated. Key flaws in SABMiller’s research cited in the challenge included:

In SABMiller’s “taste test,” the basic question, “Which beer do you prefer the taste of?” was not asked. Instead, it asked which beer has “more flavor” or “more taste.” These questions are ambiguous and likely were misinterpreted by respondents. In addition, “more taste” or “more flavor” does not equate to “preference.”

SABMiller systematically excluded Anheuser-Busch’s most loyal customers from its testing. Only beer drinkers who at least occasionally drank both Miller Genuine Draft/Miller Lite and Budweiser/Bud Light were allowed to participate in the tests. People who drink Budweiser or Bud Light exclusively were excluded from the test.

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is the leading U.S. brewer and holds a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer. In a survey of 10,000 business leaders and securities analysts, Anheuser-Busch ranked first overall in quality of products and services among nearly 600 companies researched in FORTUNE magazine’s 2004 “America’s Most Admired Companies” listing. The company also is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is the world’s largest recycler of aluminum beverage containers.

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