James Durbin gives perspective on what the AB-InBev merger means to St. Louis IT in a post entitled The Effect Of The Anheuser-Busch Merger On The St Louis Staffing Market. He takes it from a macro approach, but let me tell you what it means to you, the individual IT drone: There are going to be a lot of former AB contractors chasing a smaller number of IT jobs in St. Louis.
But never mind that, let’s talk about the real impact on the rest of us: The commercials are going to suck. I mean, I’m not a fan of Budweiser, having only drunk a single Bud Light in my lifetime and only as part of Mardi Gras in Soulard where that’s all that was available from Red, the bartender from the Venice Cafe who was moonlighting on some balcony in Soulard proper. My dislike of the product aside, the commercials were often funny. I mean, almost ten years later, I say, “Willie, it’s go time,” and that’s from a non-campaign spot:
I watch a lot of sports, and this means I watch a lot of Bud and Bud Light commercials.
Have you ever seen a funny European beer commercial? Ever? They’re all so earnest at best, at worst they creep me out. Dudes, I have nightmares about this one:
Forget the local economy tanking. This is really where it’s going to hurt.
We could get lucky and have Australian beer commercials. Don’t despair.
Yeah, I can spend all afternoon recalling Foster’s commercials, and then about five o’clock I give up and go home.