MillerCoors Is Suing Anheuser-Busch Over That Super Bowl Corn Syrup Ad
Two days ago, a MillerCoors blog post announced Miller Lite was launching a series of commercials that "lightheartedly joust with the 'Dilly Dilly' fantasy world Bud Light has inhabited for the better part of a year." The next day was decidedly less lighthearted as the company sued Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, for misleading customers.
The ordeal began at the Super Bowl, when Bud Light dropped an ad pointing out that MillerCoors uses corn syrup in its beer while Bud Light is brewed with rice. As you might recall, the Bud Light Knight goes on a journey to return a barrel of corn syrup accidentally delivered to the king.
Both Miller and the corn industry were not happy with this obvious shade and responded quickly on social media and, in MillerCoors' case, with a full-page ad in the New York Times. In the ad, they made a distinction between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup and told readers that through the fermentation process, the corn syrup used doesn't actually end up in the beer anyway.
In the lawsuit, Miller says Anheuser "plotted an extensive and pervasive advertising scheme designed to frighten consumers into switching away from Miller Lite and Coors Light to Bud Light," CNN reports. They also noted that no Miller products use high-fructose corn syrup but some of Anheuser's do, including the Berry-A-Rita.
MillerCoors is asking Anheuser-Busch to stop airing the commercials and issue new ones correcting the "false and misleading" claims. The company is also seeking damages and claims. Anheuser-Busch, meanwhile, stands by the ads. In a statement, vice president of communications Gemma Hart said: "MillerCoors' lawsuit is baseless and will not deter Bud Light from providing consumers with the transparency they demand. We stand behind the Bud Light transparency campaign and have no plans to change the advertising."
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