Lowest Common Denominator Or Strategic

By Mike Maddaloni on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 06:00 AM with 4 comments

While sitting in traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago, this billboard for Bud Light was staring at me for about 5 minutes, as shown in the photo below:

photo of Bud Light billboard with caption 'Superior Drinkability'

The photo shows 2 icy bottles of Bud Light with the large caption, “Superior Drinkability.” As I stared back at the billboard, I questioned to myself, “doesn’t that mean simply that you can drink it?”

Being someone who has consumed a few beers in my lifetime, the fact that I could drink the beer before me never came to mind. I was more concerned with the taste. Several hours later when I got home I looked up the word drinkability at Merriam Webster’s and was given a definition of “suitable or safe for drinking.”

Suitable? Safe? Or more importantly, what is Budweiser’s intent with this message? Are they taking their product to the lowest common denominator and saying that it can be consumed, or are the being strategic and appealing to something that – as you can read above – is beyond me?

Excuse me if I am missing the point, and if you get it, I would appreciate your insight. If it were me, I would think there were more merits to my product.


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