ADVERTISING Ads for Budweiser in Britain Rankle American Indians
March 29, 2011
Anheuser-Busch is using beer-guzzling American Indians to sell Budweiser in Britain. The television and movie-theater ads, which aren't being shown in the U.S., have shocked Indian advocacy groups and surprised advertising experts, who say the campaign is insensitive to the problem of alcoholism among American Indians. Heyer, though, defends the ads, noting they have become a cult hit in Britain, where consumers are apparently unaware of negative stereotypes about Indians and alcohol. The flap points up an increasingly prickly dilemma for global advertisers: In their ads in foreign markets, should multinational companies be held to the same standards of ethics and taste as they are at home? Does it make a difference if images that are offensive in one culture are benign in the market where the ads are shown? A scene from the Budweiser commercials
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