Super Bowl Bud Light ad sparks corn controversy
Super Bowl commercials from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA’s Bud Light may have just revived a national focus on corn syrup, an ingredient that has been blamed for its role in the national obesity epidemic. Their competitors took to Twitter to voice their distaste for the ads.
Sometimes Super Bowl ads can be a little corny. But when an ad is about corn, not everyone finds it funny.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUD | ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV | 55.82 | -0.21 | -0.37% |
A Bud Light ad that aired Sunday during the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history, in which the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13 to 3, had bored football fans chuckling, as the nation’s corn farmers quickly took to Twitter to protest what was a slam on corn syrup not being an ingriedent in Bud Light on the view it is bad for your health.
While high fructose corn syrup has been vilified by some as a common contributor diabetes and obesity, the nation’s farmers and agricultural industry began responding almost immediately, upset at the implication that corn is a product to be completely avoided.
The ad -- one in a series by the beermaker set in times of the popular drama “Game of Thrones” -- a king learns that a massive cask of corn syrup has been delivered to his brewery.
“But we don’t brew Bud Light with corn syrup,” the bearded king says confusedly.
“Miller Light uses corn syrup,” replies a woman dressed in armor, standing beside the cask painted with the large, capitalized words, “CORN SYRUP.”
“Let us take it to them at once!” answers the king.
Once the king and his cohorts arrive at the castle where Miller Light is brewed, they learn the syrup was actually destined for the makers of another beer, Coors Light. Miller Light had already received its shipment.
“Well, well, well,” the Coors Light brewers eventually say, “It looks like the corn syrup as come home to be brewed.”
As if it weren’t clear already, the ad ends with the line, “Bud Light, brewed with no corn syrup.”
Similarly, Matthew Boucher, an Illinois corn farmer who has appeared previously on FOX Business tweeted, “For the record: The fact that Bud Light isn’t made with corn isn’t an issue. It’s the fact that Bud Light insinuates that corn is … bad when in fact it isn’t.”
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The lobby for America’s corn growers said it was “disappointed” with Budweiser. “Our office is right down the road! We would love to discuss with you the many benefits of corn!”
Yet many sports fans, during a game played with just a single touchdown scored, still found the ad pithy and humorous.
Said a Florida-based television meteorologist in a Tweet on Sunday, “(The) Bud Light commercial is the best thing I've seen on tv during the same so far.”