Bob McCarty Writes

I was surprised to find a news release for Budweiser in the rotation of ads featured today in “THE HOLIDAY SPOTLIGHT” on PRNewswire.  Why?  Because the ad appeared on the same day that ABInBev, the beermaker’s parent company as of Nov. 18, used another news release to announce it would slash approximately 1,400 U.S. salaried workers — or about six percent of its total U.S. workforce.

Shown in the composite graphic at right, the link to the news release served two functions:

1.  It heralded the 75th anniversary of the Budweiser Clydesdales as an American icon; and

2.  It announced the release of a commemorative holiday coffee table book featuring more than 200 pages of historical and full color photography.

By publishing the book prior to the layoff announcement, ABInBev executives proved they were forward thinkers (i.e., they made sure that soon-to-be-axed salaried workers would have something to read while standing the unemployment lines).

Final Thought: I find it ironic that Budweiser’s HOLIDAY SPOTLIGHT news release appeared immediately below U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s news release about today’s arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) on corruption charges.