Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Trouble brewing? Bud Light’s Cleveland Browns promo draws boos

Is it a fun incentive for downtrodden fans or salt in the wound for a team down on its luck?

Budweiser wanted to be a part of the Cleveland Browns’ turnaround, so it has created a citywide promotion for the first win of the franchise’s season.

To gin up fans’ hopes for a win, the brewer has set up padlocked fridges citywide with Bud Lights inside, to be remotely unlocked when (read: if) the Browns notch their first regular-season triumph.

Sports Illustrated wrote:

When the Browns win their first game this season, free beer will be available in Cleveland thanks to Bud Light's "Victory Fridges."

The special fridges will automatically unlock celebratory beers after Cleveland gets its first regular season win, the team announced. The fridges will be opened by smart technology as soon as the game is over.

"You've stood by us through it all," the Browns tweeted. "We love you for it, and so does @budlight."

The promotion highlights the abysmal record of the Cleveland gridders in recent years.

SI continued:

The fridges will open regardless of whether the victory is at home or at an away game to help fans celebrate the long-awaited win.

Cleveland has lost 17 games in a row without a victory. The team's last win was Dec. 24, 2016.

Some deem the promotion heartless rather than hopeful.

The Verge wrote:

To fully grasp the cruelty of what Bud Light is doing, you have to appreciate how bad the Browns’ current run of luck has been: in their last three seasons, the team has gone 3-13, 1-15, and 0-16. The last time the Browns won a game was on December 24th, 2016. The time before that was December 13th, 2015. The team is starting the 2018 season coming off a 17-game losing streak, which itself came off the back of a separate 17-game rut that ended with that 2016 win, only to begin the cycle anew.

As SB Nation’s Jon Bois has definitively proven, the Browns live in hell. And no amount of cold beer — even ones locked away in optimistically branded Browns fridges — can quench those pains.

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The Bud Light team stands by the move, however.

USA Today wrote:

“The Bud Light Browns ‘Victory Fridge’ is a fun way to celebrate and reward a fanbase that has never wavered in enthusiasm or dedication for their team no matter what happens,” said Andy Goeler, Vice-President of Marketing, Bud Light in a statement. “We’re proud to show our support for Cleveland, and we’re always looking to bring NFL fans and friends together for memorable experiences. It’s going to be fun to be part of the celebration when the team earns their first victory of the season.”

Columnist Josh Peter says the promotion is in poor taste, given the team’s history of alcohol abuse.

USA Today continued:

Wide receiver Donte Stallworth was a member of the Browns in 2009 when he killed a man while driving drunk.

Bernie Kosar, the former Browns quarterback, was arrested in Cleveland on drunken driving charges in 2013.

Defensive end Armonty Bryant was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol a month after the Browns picked him in the 2013 NFL draft.

Wide receiver Josh Gordon was arrested and charged with driving while impaired in 2014. He admitted to having three drinks with vodka.

Right guard Alvin Bailey was arrested in 2016 for DUI and told police that he had been drinking on the team plane as the Browns flew back from a game in Miami.

And it’s worth noting Browns super fan John "Big Dawg" Thompson was arrested for driving under the influence in 2009.

A Browns’ victory truly worth celebrating will not be one that unlocks those “Victory Fridges’’ and triggers the giveaway of free beer, but rather the decision to end a bad idea before the Browns even take the field.

On Twitter, others agree the move is ill-considered:

Some have taunted the team for its losing streak:

Others predict the promotion will be popular:

Promotions involving local sports teams and beer are not unprecedented in Cleveland, of course. In June 1974, the hapless Indians held 10-Cent Beer Night. What could possibly go wrong? Well, plenty.

What do you think of Budweiser’s stunt, PR Daily readers?



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