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Boycott Budweiser: Campaign Launched By Trump Supporters After Super Bowl Ad

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 05:28 PST, Feb 6, 2017

President Donald Trump supporters are urging people to boycott Budweiser after the beer giant ran its Super Bowl commercial on Sunday. The one-minute ad shined a light on Budweiser’s founder Adolphus Busch, a German immigrant who came to America in the 1800s. He was met with unwelcome greetings after getting off the ship, with strangers telling him he’s “not wanted here” and to “go home.”

The commercial highlights the obstacles Busch endured before finally establishing himself. He survives a boat fire, harassment from other Americans over his immigration status, and struggles in general to reach his goals. In the end, he perseveres.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Trump supporters want people to boycott Budweiser after the commercial, titled “Born the Hard Way,” aired during the Super Bowl. They view it as a slam against President Trump’s executive order to halt immigrant entry into the United States from seven predominately Muslim nations. That order was overturned by a Federal judge, however.

Budweiser claims the ad was irrelevant to Trump and his policies. Anheuser-Busch Vice President of Marketing Marcel Marcondes said the story was devised long before President Trump’s executive order was signed.

“Our focus this week is on our Super Bowl ads and our brands. We created the Budweiser commercial to highlight the ambition of our founder, Adolphus Busch, and his unrelenting pursuit of the American dream. This is a story about our heritage and the uncompromising commitment that goes into brewing our beer. It’s an idea we’ve been developing along with our creative agency for nearly a year.”

Many aren’t convinced that’s what’s behind the ad. The hashtag #BoycottBudweiser has spawned on Twitter, with users talking about it. However, it’s actually misspelled in the trending sidebar as #BoycottBudwiser.

As CNN reports, it’s unlikely that Adolphus Busch was in the steerage section of the ship he came to America given his family’s wealth.

Trump supporters are calling on the public to boycott Budweiser because of its pro-immigration message while seeming to take a direct hit at the president and his firm policies on undocumented immigration.

The #BoycottBudweiser hashtag began trending on February 5, Us Weekly reports. Many users were incensed by the Super Bowl ad.

“Political ads have no place being aired during #Superbowl #Americans want to protect our country! #BoycottBudweiser,” one tweeted.

“No thanks… it’s time to #BoycottBudweiser. We don’t need your beer, your opinions, and your illegal immigrants,” another wrote.

Other pro-immigration ads during the Super Bowl added to Budweiser’s context. Lumber 84 featured a Mexican mother and daughter on their way to presumably America to start a new life. It was revealed that the Fox network wanted the company to revise the ad and take out scenes of a border wall.

Other ads that stirred controversy came from Coca-Cola and Airbnb. Coca-Cola recycled its 2014 ad that featured a broad spectrum of people across different cultures with the song “America the Beautiful” performed in different languages.

Airbnb’s commercial had a collage of people of various skin colors and origins that changed from face to another. It was about tolerance and acceptance.

“We believe no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, or who you worship, we all belong,” the ad stated. “The world is more beautiful the more you accept.”

Will Trump supporters succeed in a boycott Budweiser movement? There’s no word yet on if the other companies that aired pro-immigration commercials will be targeted next.

[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]

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