Budweiser is one of the most familiar beer brands in the world, in part due to its age but mostly due to its strong emphasis on marketing and advertising. Dominating the American market with unique ad strategies and a heavy emphasis on its tone, Budweiser is a champion of brand rhetoric and continues to solidify and grow its image.
Through a series of hilarious, inventive advertisements, Budweiser has successfully led many viral campaigns. Examining the logical reasons behind this massive success can help you understand more about your own marketing and advertising strategies, and how you can adjust your voice for a similarly powerful effect.
Ethos (Authority)
Surprisingly, Budweiser pays little attention to its Ethos throughout the course of most of its advertising campaigns. Occasionally, you’ll see an ad that uses language to play to the company’s heritage and history, but these are few and far between. Most companies of a similar age and level of respect play up their Ethos as a way of emphasizing their reputation, but with Budweiser this is downplayed in favor of other elements.
Pathos (Emotion)
Budweiser has a unique Pathos that lies somewhere between residual appreciation and association with good times. The humor-driven campaigns, such as the Budweiser frogs and infamous “Whassup” advertisements are focused equally on the Pathos of humor appreciation and the Pathos of genuine enjoyment. People see advertisements for beer, get a good laugh from a conversational style, and associate beer with good, casual times.
Logos (Logic)
Budweiser’s emphasis on Logos is relatively minimal. Since the world of beer is so heavily subjective, there are few distinct logical advantages they could present. Still, the “King of Beers” tagline does make an attempt at demonstrating superiority, which serves as a complement to the primary Pathos-driven approach.
For the most part, Budweiser eliminates the approach of Ethos or Logos in favor of a heavy, audience-driven Pathos. Despite having the potential for displaying a strong Ethos, Budweiser has found great success in the emotional component alone.
