Bud Light backtracks from its Super Bowl ads about corn syrup

Anheuser-Busch InBev spent big on Super Bowl ads this year, shelling out for 6 minutes worth of ad time at an average price tag of $5.2 million per 30 seconds. It used the time to advertise its beer brands including Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Michelob Ultra. But it was the two Bud Light ads about corn syrup that got the most attention.

Bud Light’s commercials mocked Miller Lite and Coors Light for using corn syrup in their beer, which Bud Light does not use. The ads were a big hit with fans; many news sites included Bud Light among this year’s best Super Bowl ads.

The ads were not such a hit with competitors and corn farmers.

The National Corn Growers Association tweeted: “America’s corn farmers are disappointed in you… Thanks Miller Light and Coors Lite for supporting our industry.” Kevin Ross, first vice president of the NCGA, told Yahoo Finance the ad “implied that [corn syrup] was an inferior product and that the other beers were doing something wrong because they use corn syrup in the brewing process,” and called it an “attack.” Miller Lite took out a full-page ad in the New York Times on Wednesday saying, in part, “The ‘corn syrup’ we source from America’s heartland helps make Miller Lite taste so great… It’s unfortunate that our competitor’s Big Game ad created an unnecessary #corntroversy.” Coors Light tweeted on Wednesday, “Yes, we use corn syrup. It’s consumed by yeast during fermentation & never ends up in the beer you drink. That’s just beer making.” And critics pointed out that other AB-InBev beers do brew with corn syrup, including Busch and Natural Light.

Now Bud Light is publicly backtracking.