Buh Bye "Bud?"

Former U.S.-based beer maker (they still make beer here, but now their Belgian) Anheuser-Busch InBev is struggling to acquire trademark rights to "Bud" in Europe. According to the Forbes article reporting the story, AB InBev is likely to win this battle in the courts. BUT. What if they didn't?

Marketing repurcussions of a "Bud"-less European Budweiser:

• A European "Budweiser Light" is introduced. Weird.
• Tagline: "The Difference is Drinkability. Seriously."
• The baritone "Bud" frog joins the growing U.S. unemployment market.
• European paparazzi snap pics of the Ferret at AB InBev headquarters in Leuven.
• Google search for "Bud" returns 71+ million pages; more than half of them are marijuana related. Back to the marketing drawing board...
• "This Beck's for you." Sadly it's a time of change. Remember "Anheuser World Select?" Exactly.

I'm young, professionally available and love your products - call me anytime, AB InBev. Anheuser-Busch.com.

In other related news: Europeans love Budwesier. AB InBev "announces workforce reductions in the U.S." (pdf)