Budweiser Bow Tie Can: 11.3 Ounces Of Pure Marketing Genius

Impact

Why drink beer out of a cylindrical can when you can drink it out of a bow tie-shaped can? Budweiser, one of the best-selling beers in the United States, just introduced a bowtie can! The eye-catching aluminium bow tie-shaped can is set to go on sale on Monday. 

The new can is a tribute to the Budweiser bow tie-shaped logo that has been a trademark for the brand since its launch back in 1956. 

“The world’s most iconic beer brand deserves the world’s most unique and innovative can,” Pat McGauley, vice president of innovation for parent company Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement accompanying the beer.

The bow tie can actually uses twice the amount of aluminum compared to a traditional can and it costs the company more to manufacture. However, there is slightly less beer in each — 11.3 ounces, compared to the traditional 12 ounces. It also has 8.5 fewer calories than a traditional Bud.

Marketing officials at Budweiser have definitely taken the initiative to help earn greater sales. As surprising as it may sound, Budweiser has been lagging behind it's competitors in the recent past. The beer's share of the U.S. market peaked in 1988 at 26%, and sank to 9.3% last year. Even more troubling for Anheuser-Busch is that Budweiser seems at risk of being forgotten by an entire generation. Four out of 10 people in their mid-20s have never even tried Budweiser — a rate 2.5 times higher than when it reigned supreme, according to the company.

The official release addressed the obvious question of, “Why the bow tie?” It said, 

"Though there is no written documentation on the origins of the Budweiser bow tie, it is a brand icon found the world over. According to company lore, the bowtie was introduced when too many people were using the “Bud” bar call too frequently, so the double triangles were added to emphasize the full Budweiser name.

"The Budweiser bowtie can is a natural progression from the new packaging introduced in 2011 that emphasized the iconic bowtie, a symbol that first appeared in a national advertising campaign for Budweiser in 1956.