Anheuser-Busch's New Logo Aims to Usher the Megabrand Into the Future—and the Minds of Drinkers

Legacy brewer Anheuser-Busch, known globally as AB InBev, is bringing its parent company out from behind its world-renowned brands. With a new logo released today, the megabrand continues a journey that started at last year's Super Bowl. The parent company put itself front-and-center with a 60-second, tear-jerker spot that focused on what it really means to "grab a beer"—whether that's a classic Budweiser or Bud Light, one of its half dozen hard seltzers or a Cutwater Spirits canned cocktail. Now, it's reintroducing itself to drinkers with a new corporate logo. The brand's updated icon cuts back on the number of colors for easier viewing on small screens—a necessity in the era of iPhones. But the changes are also symbolic, according to Anheuser-Busch chief marketing officer Benoit Garbe. (The brand moved Garbe into the new role from chief strategy officer in September 2021. He took over from Marcel Marcondes, now president of global beyond beer at AB InBev.) Anheuser-Busch's Super Bowl Ad Gets to the Heart of What 'Let's Grab a Beer' Really Means Looking to the future First, the designers flipped the eagle around to be "more forward looking," Garbe said. The updated, singular color represents a "more optimistic view." He elaborated on the the brand's artistic philosophy in rhapsodic tones. The logo, he said, is depicted with "a golden hue drawn from the color of lager beer and wheat fields that represents so much of the heritage of the company, and the glow of the sun representing a new day and a brighter future, one with more 'cheers.'" That last line is a reference to Anheuser-Busch's new company purpose, which it unveiled in December: "We dream big to create a future with more cheers." Anheuser-Busch worked with global consultancy Prophet to create the new visual identity. The process started last March and was finalized in September. Since then, the brand has been developing plans for the launch and rollout across its business. "This new brand identity is a symbol of our heritage and represents who we are, what we stand for and where we are going," Garbe said. Bucking the trend of total simplification While the new logo does cut back on the complexity of the colors, it also introduces a more detailed script in place of the block-style lettering. That bucks a trend toward logos and lettering that are immediately readable by consumers, said Christie Nordhielm, marketing professor at Georgetown University. "Script is more difficult to process than block type is," Nordhielm explained. "The easier something is to process, perceptually, the more 'light' it is." Amid a trend toward logos that are easier to process, the complex script goes in the opposite direction, she said. The Art of Rebranding for the Digital Era A subtle step away from nationalism Perhaps the biggest alteration involves the, arguably, most symbolic aspect of the Anheuser-Busch logo: the revamp removes the arrows and the bald eagle's coloring. It's a fairly bold move away from the American theme that has defined Anheuser-Busch as a brand for much of its history, Nordhielm noted. "The nationalism that's communicated seems to have been turned down quite a bit," she said. Douglas Sellers, executive creative director at agency Siegel+Gale, also noted how the changes to the eagle differentiate the new logo from the United States seal. Those alterations make it "feel less aggressive," Sellers said. Still, Sellers questioned the lack of simplicity, especially in an era when logos must be readable on small, palm-sized screens. "It feels complicated—as if they forced two different styles together," he said. "It looks like they took the old wedding logotype from yesteryear and combined it with a slightly updated symbol."