MillerCoors Sues A-B Over Corn Syrup Ad
Calling the Bud Light corn syrup ads “a false and misleading advertising campaign … in order to deceive beer consumers into believing that there is corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup in Miller Lite and Coors Light,” MillerCoors sued Anheuser-Busch, saying the purpose of the ad campaign is “to increase sales of Bud Light.
“Under the guise of “transparency,” AB singled out MillerCoors use of a common brewing fermentation aid, corn syrup, for a deliberate and nefarious purpose: it was aware that many consumers prefer not to ingest “high-fructose corn syrup” or “HFCS,” and had reportedly conducted extensive focus group testing in which it found that consumers do not understand the difference between ordinary corn syrup (used by numerous brewers, including AB itself) and HFCS, the controversial sweetener commonly used in soft drinks,” MillerCoors says in its complaint.
“Thus, AB plotted an extensive and pervasive advertising scheme designed to frighten consumers into switching away from Miller Lite and Coors Light to Bud Light,” MillerCoors said. “And, likely because its focus group studies demonstrated it would work, AB invested an enormous amount of money—over $13 million in media time to convey the message to nearly 100 million consumers during Super Bowl LIII alone—to perpetuate the consumer confusion.”
In its complaint, MillerCoors asks the U.S. District Court in Milwaukee to permanently enjoin AB from running the corn syrup campaign. It says “AB purposely fails to inform consumers of these material facts:
- No corn syrup is in the glass, bottle, or can of Miller Lite or Coors Light that consumers drink;
- Corn syrup and HFCS are different;
- Miller Lite and Coors Light never use HFCS;
- AB also uses corn syrup as a fermentation aid in several of its products across various price points, ranging from above-premium brands (such as Stella Artois Cidre, Stella Artois Spritzer, Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer) to economy brands (Busch, Busch Light, Natural Light, and Bud Ice); and AB adds HFCS to several of its other brands (such as Rita’s Berry-A-Rita, Best Damn Peach Tea, Best Damn Root Beer, and Natty Rush Mountain Madness).”
In the complaint, MillerCoors explains that “the use of some form of sugar or carbohydrate in beer fermentation is intrinsic to all beer-making. Miller Lie and Coors Light use corn syrup for fermentation instead of other sugars in large part because of its neutral impact on beer taste, which allows the underlying hops and malt to shine through.”
The complaint states that between Feb. 3 and March 18, the 60-second and 30-second “Special Delivery” ads aired a combined 1,006 times on 26 different networks. The spot remains on Twitter.
Bud Light aired a second, 15-second commercial which ends: “Bud Light. Brewed with no Corn Syrup.” This spot aired 273 times on various networks, the complaint alleges. A final, 15-second commercial, “Trojan Horse Occupants: Whispering Beer Ingredients,” aired 795 times.
A-B has continued with additional “misleading and harmful ads,” MillerCoors says.
MillerCoors noted that “immediately following Super Bowl LIII, AB began selling Bud Light in updated packaging, further indicating that the Super Bowl LIII launch of the Campaign is just the beginning.
“The widest side of the packaging features an image of a Bud Light draft beer, and beside that image states “Hops. Barley. Water. Rice.” Below those words appear three icons, the first of which is an image of a drop of liquid, over which the classic ‘no’ symbol appears. Below that image are the words ‘No Corn Syrup.’
“This symbol sits alongside two others, No Preservatives,” and “No Artificial Flavors,” implying that corn syrup is comparable to preservatives and artificial flavors—additives that consumers dislike and are found in the finished products of some food and drink items,” MillerCoors says in the complaint.
Analysis: MillerCoors is hanging its complaint on a thread-the-needle argument that, while it uses corn syrup to make Miller Lite and Coors Light, the finish products don’t contain corn syrup because it is transformed in the brewing process. We don’t think that’s a winner.
MillerCoors would be better off, we think, by either directly attacking A-B’s own premium products that also use corn syrup, such as Stella Artois: “Drink Miller Lite or Coors Light and you get the same premium ingredient in Stella Artois for a fraction of the cost.”