AB InBev

A report in a Belgian newspaper today:

 

The world’s largest brewer, with headquarters in Leuven, will launch a beer-like soft drink (!) on the local market to counteract the drop in beer consumption. The new non-alcoholic beverage, branded as Jupiler Force, will be produced in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. It will complement the best-selling Jupiler product line.
 
Please feel free to crack the obvious jokes.

Stella Artois Triple Filtrée!

Stella Artois really annoys me. It's not just that it's a typical bland lager. A few years back they referred to the year 1340 in their ads as if to imply that the beer had really been in existence for that long. It actually dates from the mid 1920's when it was a dark Xmas beer. Stella = 'star', geddit?

The last few years have seen a proliferation of art-house style ads that give the impression that Stella is French. Then came the Nouvelle 4% with open top Citroens driven along the Corniche and glamorous women in pencil skirts and head scarfs.  Now it's a 'Smooth Outcome' delivered in a cod French accent.

My problem? Stella Artois is Belgian beer from Dutch speaking Leuven. Obviously this is not cool enough as the ad agencies try to distance the brand fro the 'wife beater' image. A pity for them that it's still being discounted in Aldi.