Budweiser May Cancel Its Sponsorship of NFL Broadcasts -- and It Wants to Hear from the Public on the Issue

Some time ago, Nissan was pressured by the crybullies into stopping advertising on Hannity or something like that. I forget the details; it was one of the crybullies' pressure campaigns to turn private companies into leftist propaganda outfits.

Nissan issued a statement saying that they do not take political stances either way and would neither endorse nor denounce any political stance.

I thought that was a wonderful example to set.

I think maybe they did it because they're a Japanese company, and therefore, maybe, they feel they don't really understand American politics, so the best corporate path is to just stay out of them entirely.

As opposed to to American corporations, where these decisions are made by social liberals who think they do understand American politics and think they do have their finger on the pulse of American thinking.

After all, they watch Rachel Maddow every night. Sometimes twice, catching the rebroadcast just to see if they missed any snarky face-making on the #RussianFront. She's just that good!

Anheiser-Busch is now a Belgian-Brazilian company. Though of course they have US offices, perhaps Anheiser-Busch is now thinking that, like Nissan, maybe they don't entirely understand American politics.

And maybe they should bother asking American Bud drinkers if an association with the #TakeTheKnee NFL is now a positive or negative factor in consumer decisions.

In the wake of increased national anthem protests by NFL players, Anheuser-Busch is reconsidering its NFL sponsorship, likely because the protests are very unpopular among everyday Americans. Bud Light currently serves as the official beer of the NFL.

So the company set up a hotline for fans to call and give their thoughts about the protests and Anheuser-Busch’s sponsorship of the NFL. The number for the hotline is: 1-800-342-5283.

What does the hotline say?

When a customer calls the number, they are greeted by a recorded voice who gives them the opportunity to voice their opinions about the protests.

Now to be honest, I think this is bullshit. If you read the article, the hotline says very vague things. I think this is just a PR move -- the idea being that people get less angry when they feel they've been heard, even if they don't get their way.

Still, I also suppose that if they get enough feedback telling them the NFL is now a liability, they may at least have some #RealTalk with the NFL, and that may at least spur the NFL to reconsider suspending its rulebook to allow some idiots to take a knee.

Incidentally, I was wrong when I predicted that no one would be stupid enough to protest the national anthem last night, given that they were less than 24 hours after a mass shooting.

Two football players took the knee. I guess the owners and coaches don't like money or having jobs.

BTW, you may see some tension between my endorsement of the Nissan Standard -- just declare you are an apolitical organization and will not participate in secondary boycotts nor endorse any political messaging -- and my lack of any statement against a possible end of Budweiser's sponsorship of the NFL.

Well, for one thing, I've never even heard of Budweiser considering ending its association with the NFL before now. I didn't call for it. But, if they're offering...

I have more to say about this but I'll put it in its own post. There's a big distinction I think a lot of people are missing when they analyze -- or, really, just emotionalize -- this issue.

posted by Ace at 04:03 PM

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