Miller Lite fires back at Bud Light over Super Bowl ‘corntroversy’ with full-page ad
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MillerCoors responded to Bud Light's pointed Super Bowl attack. (Associated Press/iStock)
This #corntroversy seems about ready to pop.
Miller Lite is proud of its corn syrup. In fact, the company is so proud of its corn syrup that the brand took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times defending itself after a Bud Light Super Bowl spot tried to shame it over the ingredient.
“You may have seen an ad on the Big Game going to great lengths to explain that Miller Lite is brewed with ‘corn syrup,’ while Bud Light is not. That’s a fact,” the ad begins, before going on to say their corn syrup is sourced from America’s heartland.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BUD LIGHT'S CORN SYRUP SUPER BOWL AD PROMPTS RESPONSE FROM COMPETITION
The brand continued the page with a paragraph dedicated to pointing out the different between “corn syrup,” which it uses and a similar-sounding, but controversial ingredient “high-fructose corn syrup,” which it does not.
The company ran a full-page ad in The New York Times. (MillerCoors)
“What might have gotten a little lost between the parties and the wings on Sunday is the distinction between ‘corn syrup’ and ‘high-fructose corn syrup,’” the ad continued. “To be clear, ‘corn syrup’ is a normal part of the brewing process and does not even end up in your great tasting can of Miller Lite.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A spokesperson for MillerCoors said to AdWeek that they ran the ad in the Times because they wanted “consumers to know the facts.”
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In a statement to Fox News, MillerCoors spokesperson Adam Collins, VP of Communications and Community Affairs, said the brand is "happy to have this conversation all day long," but doesn't want consumers to get caught up in "made-up controversy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are proud of our beers, proud of our American ingredients and proud that while Bud Light has more calories and more carbs, Miller Lite has more taste and Coors Light is the World’s Most Refreshing beer. So we’re happy to have this conversation all day long," the statement read. "Beer drinkers want taste. They want refreshment. What they don’t want is a made-up controversy over a fermentation aide that doesn’t even end up in the beer, and one Anheuser-Busch actually uses in a number of their own products.”
Bud Light reacted to Miller Coors’ full-page ad with a cheeky tweet and a comment, stating its Super Bowl campaign aimed at “transparency.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Though the tweet references the beverage’s ingredients, Anheuser-Busch admitted to using corn syrup for some of its brands.
“While Bud Light has never used corn syrup, Anheuser-Busch does use it in certain value brands, which are driven by price. Anheuser-Busch proudly supports farmers and the agricultural community. We source our ingredients from U.S. farmers, including 98 percent of our barley, 100 percent of our rice and all of our corn. Last year, Anheuser-Busch purchased more than 1 billion pounds of corn ingredients. We fully support corn growers and will continue to invest in the corn industry.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Immediately after Bud Light ran the commercial Sunday, the National Corn Growers Association reprimanded the brand, saying the group was “disappointed” in the beverage company.