The dispute between France and Anheuser-Busch over
advertising at the '98 World Cup is examined by Anne
Swardson of the WASHINGTON POST. A-B is one of 12 corporate
sponsors for the event, but French law prohibits all alcohol
and tobacco advertising, which would ban all Budweiser signs
on the field. For A-B, the event is a "key element" of its
strategy to bring the Budweiser brand into European markets.
A-B VP/Corp. Media & Sports Marketing Tony Ponturo was in
Paris last Wednesday to begin negotiations over the issue.
Ponturo: "We are sensitive to French law ... but this
marketing opportunity is so global that to not have our
boards on the field is a huge missed opportunity." The
POST's Swardson notes A-B "was aware of law" when it signed
on as a sponsor in '95, but "whether the company realized
the extent of its effect was unclear; Ponturo said there was
hope it would be deemed not to apply to the World Cup."
DEAL MAKER? Possible "compromises" on the ban include
treating the French stadiums as "semi-denationalized zones"
where French law "does not necessarily apply;" blacking out
Budweiser signs in French broadcasts but not elsewhere, or
an "amendment to the law itself." A-B's "best hope" may be
French President Jacques Chirac, who has been lobbied by A-B
President August Busch III, and "legend has it" once held a
job at the Budweiser brewery in St. Louis when he was a
college student (WASHINGTON POST, 4/14).
