USA: Anheuser-Busch ends Bud Pong game, which encountered criticism from alcohol prevention experts

Anheuser-Busch announced on October 18 that the end of its promotion for Bud Pong. This was a game created by the brewery, which was similar to a popular drinking game called beer pong but supposedly played with water. The company, according to The New York Times said it notified already the distributors the promotion was over after executives found Bud Pong was being played improperly.

The vice president for communications and consumer affairs Francine I. Katz said, "Despite our explicit guidelines, there may have been instances where this promotion was not carried out in the manner it was intended." Anheuser-Busch executives tried to differentiate Bud Pong from beer pong, a drinking game played on college campuses and in bars in which players toss or hit table tennis balls into cups of beer. The game typically involves chugging copious amounts of beer; when one team sinks a ball into a beer cup, the other team is required to drink the beer.

The Bud Pong campaign was started by the brewer last summer and provided tables, balls and glasses to distributors in 47 markets, several in college towns. The distributors helped organize tournaments and, Ms. Katz said in an interview this month, Anheuser-Busch was considering expanding Bud Pong and trying to trademark the name.

The alcohol prevention experts criticize beer companies for trying to appeal to under-age drinkers, and yesterday Ms. Katz said, "As a company that has invested more than $500 million to promote responsible consumption among adults and to discourage abuse, we believe it is important that our intentions with Bud Pong not be misperceived. "

The head of the College Alcohol Study at the Harvard School of Public Health, Henry Wechsler criticised Bud Pong and said: "This was a tremendous gaffe on their part. Their posturing that they promote responsible drinking was hurt by this."