Despite the fact that I’ve been a 15 year resident of St. Louis (sadly, no longer), I’ve never believed that AB products were supported by anthing other than marketing, and the American public’s gullibility. But they’ve outdone themselves with this “low carb” idea.
I came across these ads in running magazines (I’m a 3 time marathoner), and at one running event I’ve been in, they’ve tried giving the stuff away (I say tried - but at 10am on Sunday in the heart of the Bible belt, after running a marathon, there weren’t many takers).
Now, this beer tastes like crap, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. It’s the marketing. They’re advertising this stuff heavily in places where athletic people are likely to pay attention. If there’s a publication for devoted couch potatoes, well, I don’t know if they’re going there.
I can tell you from my experience that, with regards to beer, runners fall into two categories:
A. Beer has alcohol. Alcohol is not good for your body. No matter what anybody says, it doesn’t belong in a serious athlete’s diet. Hope that the other guy drinks beer, so you can beat him in the next race.
B. Beer has water - I need hydration. Beer has chromium, I don’t really know what that means, but I need it. And most of all, beer has carbohydrates. I can’t get enough carbohydrates. Alcohol is bad for me - what, are you kidding? I just finished a marathon! Bring on the Beer!
Now, under A above, anything called “beer” is not going to get noticed by the athlete. Under B above, nothing that’s “low carbohydrates” is going to get noticed, either. So, what the hell are they trying to do with this product?
(if you couldn’t tell, I’d be in the “B” column)
It has to be the most hypocritical and transparent advertising scheme ever devised. Some folks out there are trying to loose weight with a “low carb” scheme. Fine, I dunno anything about that - maybe it works, maybe it don’t. I do know that if you want to run farther than you ever did before you better get your carbs, or you’ll be laying on the side of the road someday.
So, the geniuses at AB are marketing this thing in runner’s publications, and things like sponsoring the Michelob Ultra Women’s Marathon Championship (just last weekend, in St. Louis). This way, it looks like a “healthy” product, an important part of any athlete’s diet, just like Gatorade and Gu. That way, the couch potatoes are thinking “Hey, if it’s good for them, that’s good enough for me! Forget about running 30 miles a week, I’ll just drink the beer!”
Sheesh.