Bud Light is losing the corn syrup battle.
Here’s the latest: MillerCoors says it will unveil “the world’s first smart beer tap handle powered by Bud Light negativity. ”
Each time Bud Light talks about Coors Light on social or broadcast media, the tap handle illuminates, signaling that each legal-age patron will get a free Coors Light. “When they bring hate, we will literally bring light,” says Ryan Reis, vice president of the Coors family of brands. “The more Bud Light talks, the more we refresh.”
The smart handles, which Reis unveiled today at a MillerCoors distributors convention , are to launch March 21 in select bars in five cities: New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Omaha and Las Vegas, timed to coincide with the start of the national college basketball tournament.
“Bud Light has been attacking us out of frustration and criticizing our ingredients for weeks now,” Reis says. “We know drinkers don’t want to hear it. They want to move on. And according to a survey we conducted last week, 80 percent of premium light drinkers said they just want to enjoy a refreshing beer without being subjected to a debate about ingredients. So we’re giving it to them.”