A federal judge in Wisconsin ordered Anheuser-Busch to stop declaring on its packaging that Bud Light contains “no corn syrup.”
Since January A-B has run ads declaring that Miller Lite and Coors Light are made with corn syrup. MillerCoors maintains consumers don’t distinguish between corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup, which is believed to contribute to obesity.
The judge described A-B’s marketing as misleading. He conceded the packaging does not mention Miller Lite or Coors Light,” but added, “that does not mean that it is not actionable under the Lanham Act.” but allowed A-B to use up its existing supplies of packaging.
“In light of the limited number of beers in the light beer market, with Bud Light, Miller Lite and Coors Light accounting for almost 100% of sales, (a) jury could also find a substantial segment of consumers would infer that Bud Light’s principal competitors contain corn syrup, especially after a hundred million dollar television and print campaign misleadingly suggesting the same thing,” the judge found.
“Today’s ruling is another victory for MillerCoors, but more importantly it is another victory for the American public against deceptive advertising like Bud Light’s,” MillerCoors CEO Gavin Hattersley said in a statement. “Bud Light’s campaign was bad for the public, bad for the industry and against the law. With this ruling, we are holding Bud Light accountable for its actions, and we will keep holding their feet to the fire every time they intentionally mislead the American public.”
A-B maintained it would defend its “right to inform beer drinkers” of the fact Bud Light is brewed with no corn syrup both at trial and on appeal.
“MillerCoors is resisting consumer demands for transparency in the ingredients used to brew its beers, but those demands are here to stay,” A-B said, adding: “We will continue leading this movement in the beer industry.”
This is the second injunction ruling stemming from a federal lawsuit filed by MillerCoors against Anheuser-Busch, arguing a recent Bud Light ad campaign intentionally deceived the public.
The previous injunction ruling barred Anheuser-Busch from using similar language featured in the recent ad campaign in any future commercials, print advertising or social media.
That ruling also ordered Anheuser-Busch to stop running certain TV ads, to take down certain billboards, and forced Anheuser-Busch to change portions of its website because the information was misleading. The federal court also previously denied Anheuser-Busch’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
At the time of the previous ruling, the federal court asked for additional written arguments from MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch before making a determination on the request to bar Bud Light from using “no corn syrup” on its packaging. After reviewing those arguments, the federal court extended the preliminary injunction to bar Anheuser-Busch from using “no corn syrup” on any future Bud Light packaging. Anheuser-Busch will be allowed to sell products using the packaging it had on hand as of June 6, 2019, or until March 2, 2020, whichever occurs first.