Anheuser-Busch Forgoes the Test; May Ship New Bud by Labor Day

ST. LOUIS – The newest Budweiser brand from Anheuser-Busch may roll out nationally by Labor Day with a hefty $40-45 million push through DDB Needham Chicago, according to several A-B sources.
A-B will forgo any testing of a new cold-filtered product (ADWEEK, June 7), believed to carry the Bud Draft name, and begin shipping to distributors in the next few weeks in order to be on shelves for the end-of-summer holiday. The move comes in the wake of A-B’s decision to keep year-old Michelob Golden Draft only a regional brand and its decision to move the advertising for the brand from Needham to St.