A-B Looks to Ride Imports' Wave

Quintessential American brewer Anheuser-Busch wants to tap into U.S. drinkers’ growing fondness for imported beer with Anheuser World Select European-style lager. But unlike Michelob Ultra, A-B’s most recent high-end product launch, Select is getting a deliberately modest ad push.

With import sales up 9.8 percent to $1.5 billion in 2002, according to Information Resources Inc., St. Louis-based A-B is launching the beer today in select markets with an outdoor, print and point-of-sale effort by Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos in Boston.