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morganbelarus · 7 years

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The attempt to boycott Budweiser over their Super Bowl is a silly, stupid mess

Adolphus Busch, who was very much a legal immigrant

Image: Budweiser/Screenshot

In the Trump era, even a beer commercial can have political consequences, intentional or not, and spark boycotts such as the one facing the makers of Budweiser after their pro-immigrant Super Bowl ad.

Specifically, people are mad at Anheuser-Busch for creating and airing an ad that depicts the path taken by Adolphus Busch, the German-born co-founder of the mega-brewery, upon his immigration to the United States in the early 1850s.

SEE ALSO: These are the most talked about Super Bowl LI ads that you won't want to miss

The ad, which aired during the Super Bowl but debuted on YouTube on Jan. 31, depicts the cold welcome Busch received upon his arrival to the U.S., with one man growling at the young Busch, "You're not welcome here."

Following the introduction of a controversial Muslim ban by President Donald Trump, many viewers and critics of the president projected current day politics onto the ad. It didn't take long after the release of the ad on YouTube in late January for the hashtag #boycottbudweiser picked up steam. It then simmered on Twitter until the ad slot during the Super Bowl on Sunday evening kicked it into overdrive.

As the hashtag started to grow, the company denied the ad had anything to do with Trump's immigration stance and also noted the ad shows Busch entering the country legally. "It's an idea we've been developing along with our creative agency for nearly a year," a spokesperson told the Washington Post on Feb. 1.

Budweiser's vice president of marketing, Ricardo Marques, told Adweek on Jan. 29, it's not intended to be a response to Trump's actions, despite what people on Twitter might believe.

Theres really no correlation with anything else thats happening in the country, he told the magazine. We believe this is a universal story that is very relevant today because probably more than any other period in history today the world pulls you in different directions, and its never been harder to stick to your guns."

These public comments by Anheuser-Busch did nothing to stop the backlash on Super Bowl Sunday. Following the ad slot, #boycottbudweiser and a misspelled version of the hashtag, #boycottbudwiser, began trending across the U.S.

Last night's Orwellian Super Bowl advertising should strike fear into the hearts of freedom-loving Americans.#SB51 #boycottbudwiser

Patrick Henry (@FightNowAmerica) February 6, 2017

I don't drink at all, but I suggest those who do to stop buying beer from a company that attacks you for being patriotic. #boycottbudwiser

Mister Sinister (@AngeloJohnGage) February 6, 2017

I'm not watching any part of the #SuperBowl Not the #Commercials Not the #PepsiHalftime #BoyCottBudweiser #BoyCottSuperBowl#TurnItOff https://t.co/JUl0aOEFIS

Bellona (@Lady_Lbrty) February 5, 2017

On Monday morning, #boycottbudwiser was still hanging out on Twitter's top trending list, which did nothing to help the campaign's legitimacy. The misspelled hashtag made its way to this coveted spot thanks to people continuing to use it genuinely and by the hordes of people mocking it. Some supporters of the hashtag even went as far as accusing Twitter of nefarious shenanigans, claiming the company changed the spelling of the hashtag in the dead of night. Okay, then.

#boycottbudwiser may be the most right wing thing ever to happen: 1) Misspelled 2) So xenophobic they are boycotting their own ancestors.

Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) February 6, 2017

So #boycottbudwiser is trending... which is a perfect time to point out that we need someone to actually improve education. Not @BetsyDeVos.

Mel Mower (@melmower) February 6, 2017

In the spirit of #BoycottBudwiser, may I suggest:#BoycottStirbucks#BoycottHamulton#BoycottStarWers

Alby, Nazi Puncher (@albyselkie) February 6, 2017

the fact that #boycottbudwiser is trending, spelled as such, is >>>>>>>

David Infante (@dinfontay) February 6, 2017

So who's fault is it that you can't even correctly spell #boycottbudwiser? Is it Obama? Fake News? ISIS? Mexicans? Black people? I'll wait.

Tricky Nick (@279_nick) February 6, 2017

Even if we ignore the trending typo, it is unclear the objective of the boycott tweets. When we look at previous examples of similar campaigns, Twitter users calling for a boycott of one of the largest beverage companies in the world is not likely to have a huge affect. For example the 2016 boycott of a Star Wars movie, in which angry Twitter users falsely claimed there were anti-Trump lines in the film, did little to hurt the film. While, the proposed boycott of smash hit musical Hamilton after the Broadway cast read a post-performance open letter to then-VP-elect Mike Pence had the same impact on the bottom line: zilch.

The boycotters also missed the larger historical context of the Budweiser ad, too. In the 1850s, long before Trump was worried about "bad hombres," Americans were worried about immigrants from China on the West Coast and European immigrants on the East Coast (and the brewing Civil War).

The whole movement even led to the bright-but-brief existence of an entire political party, the Know-Nothing Party, dedicated to an anti-immigrant platform.

Not that it matters: if you can't spell the name of one of the country's most popular beers, you're not going to understand historical context.