Budweiser's New Design: Simple Brilliance

The new Budweiser can, released in August of 2011, is, in my opinion, brilliant.  The can combines the best elements of the prior Budweiser cans with two other classic package designs:  the bright red Coca Cola can as well as the Marlboro pack.  The Budweiser design team must have had a simple, yet sophisticated, insight that products that target consumers associate with "fun, cool, and addictive" also strongly associate those products with the package design.  

This journal is not advocating that millions of people being addicted to caffeine, sugar, and nicotine is a good thing, but, from a design perspective, Budweiser must have realized that there exists a niche in the global consumer's mind, carved out by Coca-Cola, that responds to red backgrounds, beautiful letters, and angular covers.  The storm released after The Coca-Cola Company released their white Christmas cans evidences this mental association.

Coca-Cola and Marlboro cigarettes are two of the most successful and addictive products ever, so Budweiser is proving that imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery.  The subtle brilliance, though, lays in Budweiser's unique take on two classic packaging designs.  The cherry on top is the red tab with the crown silhouette,  literally on top of the can.  I would not be surprised to see Coca-Cola stages a little reverse imitation and rolls out  some colored tabs on one of their flavors.  My guess is that the Coke team would first try a black tab on the Coca-Cola Zero can.

The bow tie design is also perfect, especially when one is holding the tall can at a party or a bar.  Just the right amount of red and white show through one's hand to signal to the world that the person is, indeed, drinking a Budweiser regular.

Anecdotal evidence from a few of my friends, [Speedo Domino and Huck], who are fans of Budweiser, prefer the original cans.  Anheuser-Busch InBev's financial report for 2011 noted that "...Budweiser continued to show good signs of stabilization with share declines decelerating and brand health indicators improving," though.  Whether the improved sales are due to the general economy or the design of the cans is a matter debate, unless AB InBev decides to release their market research data at some point.  CCRC's vote, clearly, is to stick with the new can design.  Cheers!         

Please note that drinking responsibly is advocated by Cody Costa Rica Consulting.