AUSTIN, Texas — Texas A&M University, Southern Methodist University, Boston College, Penn State University, Iowa State University and numerous other schools are no fans of the "fan can." But the University of Texas isn't complaining about the orange-and-white Bud Light cans on the shelves in the Austin area.
Critics of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. say the nation's largest brewer is promoting underage and binge drinking as well as infringing on trademarks by cloaking its product in various schools' colors. An official from the Federal Trade Commission joined the growing chorus of criticism this week.
Chris Plonsky, who oversees various licensing matters as women's athletic director at UT, said the university is OK with the Bud Light product, which is sold in 24-can packs the size of a small suitcase.
"It wasn't even close to our colors," Plonsky said, noting that UT has certain legal rights regarding its hue of burnt orange. "This was Illinois orange or Syracuse orange. We felt there was no intrusion at all."
Lori White, vice president for student affairs at SMU in Dallas, had a different take: "We think it's exploitative and irresponsible to use school spirit to sell beer, period — and especially to sell beer that underage students might purchase."
SMU will urge Anheuser-Busch not to offer Bud Light in red and blue cans, White said. A&M has already fired off a letter complaining about the maroon-and-white cans that showed up in the College Station area last week.
With the cans displayed next to items licensed to bear the A&M name, such as ice chests, "it would be easy to make the connection that those beer cans are officially approved by the university," said Jason Cook, A&M's vice president for marketing and communications.
A statement issued by Anheuser-Busch, a unit of Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev, defended the promotion while saying that the cans will not be sold in communities where objections were raised. Company officials did not respond to a request for a list of schools involved. The company told A&M last week that it would drop the maroon-and-white promotion in the near future, Cook said.
"The Fan Can program provides Bud Light packaging in color schemes to connect with fans of legal drinking age in fun ways in select markets across a variety of sports," Carol Clark, Anheuser-Busch's vice president for corporate social responsibility, said in the statement. "The program is one of many elements that make up our overall Bud Light marketing plan, and this program is expressly timed to coincide with the beginning of the football season and baseball playoffs.
"Our company's position on college drinking is clear: If students are 21 or older and choose to drink, we want them to do so responsibly. If they are under 21, we want them to respect the law and not drink."
Although the cans and packaging make no mention of UT, some Austin retailers have wrapped a cardboard sign around stacks of the product promoting the Longhorn Sports Network. The sign includes the phrase Bud Light, an image of beer bottles and the university's longhorn logo.
Anheuser-Busch is a sponsor of the statewide radio network, which is distributed by Kentucky-based IMG College, a marketing, licensing and media company. IMG shares revenue with UT but not any of the Anheuser-Busch revenue, in accordance with state regulations, Plonsky said.
She said Anheuser-Busch is permitted to use the Longhorn Sports Network signage, but retailers' practice of wrapping the signage around the packages of orange and white cans "did cause some confusion." She said the university would work with the brewer to "separate that a little better."
Janet Evans, a senior attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying: "We've told them (Anheuser-Busch officials) we don't ever want to see a campaign like this again. We're concerned about the promotion, because it's targeted to college campuses where there are a large number of binge drinkers and underage persons in the audience."
Ralph K.M. Haurwitz writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: rhaurwitz(at)statesman.com.