As first reported last month by Behind the Beer News, Budweiser is giving “America” packaging another go this summer.
In addition to bringing back America-branded bottles and cans, Bud will also be rolling a limited-edition, camouflage “America” aluminum bottle.
The “America” bottles and cans will be on shelf through Labor Day, while the camouflage bottles are expected to run through the Fourth of July, according to Advertising Age.
The question is, whether it will help the fortunes of the country’s third-largest beer brand. The America labels drew “cheers and jeers” last year, as Ad Age reported. But they weren’t enough to reverse a long-running sales decline.
Bud shipments fell 3.5 percent in 2016, according to reporting earlier this year by Beer Marketer’s Insights (subscription required). From 2006 to 2016, shipments dropped 41.6 percent.
The downward trajectory continues this year. ABI reported that Bud sales fell in the mid-single digits during the first quarter.
The Bud franchise is down 6 percent year-to-date through May 13, according to Nielsen.
ABI has also received label approval for Bud labels bearing the names of states in which it is brewed (also previously reported by Behind the Beer News). ABI declined to comment on its plans for those labels for Ad Age, which said:
The approach seems to be an attempt to remind drinkers that Bud has local credentials in an age when craft brewers often get more attention for being locally brewed.