Shilling for Beer? CNBC Airs Glowing Budweiser Tribute

CNBC has a bad rap. It began with Rick Santelli's made-for-youtube tirade in which he blamed home-buying "losers" for causing the mortgage the crisis. Then Jon Stewart skewered the CNBC journalists who promoted the banks that most analysts blame for the mortgage crisis, sparking a minor media war with Jim Cramer that left Cramer appearing petulant and self-important. A few weeks later, Cramer exploded at blogger Dan Solin and stormed off the set of the CNBC's Power Lunch. Then just last week, CNBC Reports host Dennis Kneale rampaged against "bloggers" calling them "digital dickweeds" and accusing them of living in their mothers' basements, among other clever gibes. He also invited one blogger to call in and discuss the market only to cut him off mid-comment and insult him. As a result, CNBC has replaced FOX News as the new bête noire of the blogosphere.

So it was with some interest that I watched Dennis Kneale's "Parting Shots" last night in a segment called "Blog You!!!" in which he trashed the "pond scum" of the blogosphere for their ad hominem attacks on him.

But this post isn't about CNBC's battle of the blogs. It's about the CNBC "original" on Budweiser that aired after CNBC Reports last night: Exploring America’s 130 year love affair with the King of Beers.

At the beginning, I was convinced that I was watching some kind of extended Budweiser advertisement, so fast and furious came the Bud logos and scenes of young, attractive people enjoying Budweiser.

Consider the following voiceover by host, Scott Wapner, during a montage of people sucking down cans of Budweiser and Bud Light:

"Ask beer lovers what a beer should be, and they'll almost wax poetically about it. When it's poured, it should have a thick head that tops off the glass, releasing a slightly floral and citrus aroma. Its golden tint glistens, its clarity an example of brewing perfection. The first sip is clean and crisp, the taste light and refreshing. There's nothing like a cold one on a hot summer day."

Um, what beer lovers are we talking about? Clarity, cleanliness, light taste? These are the attributes of mass-market lagers that no self-respecting beer connoisseur would seek. It's as if one were to claim that hamburger lovers prefer "thin cuts of fatty processed beef microwaved to well-done perfection" and flashed pictures of people enjoying Big Macs. Like McDonald's, Budweiser is an American success. It has succeeded in part by filtering and watering down its beer in order to make it palatable to the widest possible audience. But that success has come at the cost of quality; Budweiser is not a beer lover's beer. Even Annheiser-Busch doesn't pretend that Budweiser is a high quality beer. Instead, they emphasize drinkability.

The program also includes multiple clips of unctuous praise from an interview with author Maureen Ogle, who speaks highly of the lack of unsightly "mistakes" in a glass of Bud, by I which I presume she means the hops and yeast that give beer its taste.

"Budweiser is a triumph of brewing technology. It's extremely difficult to make a beer like Budweiser. You hold it up to the light and every little mistake will show, and you won't see any mistakes in a glass of Budweiser. It's a uniquely American kind of beer"

The plaudits concerning the intrinsically "American" character of Budweiser continue throughout the program, which is ironic since the Belgian conglomerate, InBev, just purchased Anheuser-Busch. In addressing the acquisition, Mr. Wapner plays the apologist:

"The answer for more and more beer companies have been to partner with foreign brewers...Annheiser-Busch held out as long as it could, the lone wolf in an incredibly competitive marketplace but at some point even this giant had to see the writing on the wall.

The program also discusses a recent decline in beer sales as consumers reject mass-market products in favor or wine and craft brews. Mr. Wapner presents the challenge to Anheiser-Busch as a marketing problem, rather than a product quality problem, explaining,

"AB spends millions of dollars trying to convince consumers that beer is just as diverse and refined as wine."

Beer is just as diverse and refined as wine, but Budweiser is not. AB's mass-market strategy put small breweries out of business half a century ago. Along with Miller and Coors, Anheiser-Busch's product is the reason that consumers do not regard beer as diverse and refined.

Wapner then goes on to fret that AB's attempts to "refine" Budwesier will ruin its classic taste:

"But Bud with blue agave in it or topped off with clamato juice, or laced with lime? Can a true beer lover enjoy such variations of the King. In the end, it's all about trying to stay ahead of trends."

I could go on, but let's get to the point: Why has CNBC aired such a flawed, sycophantic piece of advertising fluff for Anheiser-Busch? I can only assume that the program is nothing more than a product placement opportunity and that AB has contributed heavily to this ardent toast to the glory Budweiser.

If so, then CNBC has once again sacrificed journalistic intregrity in its sad quest to become the Budweiser of news media: pale, watery, and tasteless.