As part of their ad blitz for this year’s big game, Bud Light is transforming a 200-room hotel in New Orleans into a "Bud Light Hotel," where they’ll be hosting the EA Sports’ Madden Bowl after the hotel opens on January 31.

In addition to a Facebook contest seeking a Correspondent for the Hotel, a concert featuring Flo Rida, Pitbull, and Stevie Wonder will be broadcast live on their MySpace page. And on Twitter, the brand is using the hashtag #herewego, which was launched with a 16-second video called "Lucky Chair" last week.

Last year, the hype was all around Bud Light Platinum, the amped up rendition of regular Bud Light with a 6% ABV. This year, the Bud Light brand needs to tout the same old beer with some killer new ads. In other words, this better be one lucky chair.

A 30-second spot during the Super Bowl this year is priced somewhere between $3.7 and $3.8 million. That’s nothing for big players like Bud Light, but the fact is, they’ve got some serious competition now. It’s been close to 20 years since the classic Bud…Weis…Er "Frogs Commercial" made its debut, and back in those days, Budweiser was king of big game TV spots.

But times have changed. In 2011, Volkswagen’s "The Force" Commercial blew up, and now holds the title for the most-shared ad of all time. And the Dorito brand has been killing it with their "Crash the Super Bowl" contest.

If I were to guess, I’d say Black Crown, the new beefed up Budweiser beer, will make a bigger splash than Bud Light, and Dorito will beat out both of those brands. Pepsi and Coke are also likely to come out swinging, along with Century 21, Axe, Best Buy, Mercedes, Chrysler, and GoDaddy.com. Check out AdAge for the full list of big contenders.

In total, A-B InBev has four minutes and 30 seconds of Super Bowl ad spots, ringing in at between $33.3 and $34.2 million total dollars spent on advertising. They’ve got two 60-second spots for Bud Light, two 30-second spots for Black Crown, a 30-second spot for the new Beck’s Sapphire, and one 60-second spot for the Clydesdale horses.

I’m not totally sure what I’m more excited about; the game itself, or the commercials. We’ll see when I decide to get a beer and use the bathroom.

Coca-Cola’s new two minute ad is called "Coming Together." It starts with about four seconds of nostalgic old ads, then cuts into the present with a woman gleefully recycling empty Coke bottles at a beach, a smiling couple, a woman laying on the grass, a gentleman in his office, and then a family at the dinner table. Of course, all of these people are of different races. Totally transparent, but at least they own it.

The female narrator uses the word "obesity" for the first time at about the ten second mark, where we then see a moving dial on a weight scale juxtaposed with a doctor working a stethoscope on a child’s belly. Picture perfect, of course. I mean it’s Coca-Cola, the "nation’s leading beverage company," a bragging right they squeeze in almost effortlessly at 16 seconds.

After that, as if you were unable to guess it, the ad starts to highlight all of the low and zero calorie drink options made by Coke: Diet Coke, Vitamin Water Zero, and the Coca-Cola mini cans, or "portion-controlled sizes," as they call them.

From there, they talk about what they’ve done in schools and their partnerships with groups that encourage healthy habit forming, like exercising and eating right. But at the end of the day, they’re doing all of this to sell their product. The partnerships, the portion sizes, the low and zero calorie drinks – it’s all done to sell a product; a product that, we all know too well, is a main cause of obesity.

While it may seem like I’m trashing this commercial, like it’s angered me in some way, I’m not, and it hasn’t. I’m in marketing myself, so I get it. I know there’s people out there who will watch this commercial and say "Would ya look at that? I can drink all the Diet Coke (or portion-controlled regular Coke) I want, and I won’t gain weight" This isn’t true. But it’s okay. That’s the point.

And for those who see through that, the brand has still acknowledged the fact their product is linked with a serious issue on a national scale. They’ve owned it, they’ve shown that they’re thinking about it and making changes, and they’ve successfully aligned – and highlighted those alignments – with efforts to fight the problem.

This campaign, by all means, is smart, and as far as I can see, it’s successful. Coca-Cola is a powerhouse in the beverage industry, and we’d all by lying to ourselves if we didn’t openly admit that we’re watching their every move.

Check out the ad here:

A few of the 160 taps at the Tap House Grill in Seattle (Picture Courtesy of BeerLens.com)

If you had to guess, which country would you say consumes the most beer? It’s not Canada, Ireland, or America, although those would be my three guesses, quite possibly in that order. It’s the Czech Republic, ringing in at 132 liters per person, per year.

That’s about 4,463 ounces of beer per person, per year. Approximately 372 12-ounce cans. About one 12-ounce beer per person, per day. And everyone doesn’t drink, so those who do are drinking more than one a day.

But I’m getting off track. America comes in heaving at 12th place behind countries like Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland. No medal, not even in the top ten. As if we have no beer bragging benefits. But wait, a tiny shimmer of hope in the distance. Diversity. Variety. Choices.

Sweet sweet America. Land of choices. While we don’t drink the most beer, we surely enjoy a variety of it. In fact, no other country ranks above the States in regards to the number of different beers brewed here. Actually, no other country comes close.

So don’t give your customers the standard "Bud, Bud Light, Coors, Coors light, Michelob Ultra, and Corona" line, when they ask about your beer selection.

While there’s nothing wrong with carrying those beers, and offering them to your customers, why not give them a few more choices? We’re not in a race to consume the most beer. There’s about 10 million Czechs out there who have that securely in their grips. But we are defending a varietal title, and also a commitment to service. So give the people what they want. Defend this varietal land.

The ad pictured above is part of a new Absolut campaign called "Absolut Unique." The bottles are all different, and there’s nine of them in this particular ad, but Absolut plans to produce almost 4 million in an effort to reflect the individuality of each consumer.

Jonas Tåhlin, Vice President of Global Marketing at The Absolut Company, said they "wanted to give each [customer] a ‘one of a kind’ bottle to reflect their individuality." He said "we loved the concept, but making it happen was the hard part. Along the way we doubted whether this would be at all possible. Well, guess what? It is."

The Ardagh Group manufactures all Absolut bottles, and the doubts Tåhlin referred to concerned producing this level of variety. The production process at the Ardagh glass plant in Sweden is designed to minimize variation, because in most cases, the bottles are supposed to be identical. This changed the game, but they figured it out with a computerized valve and control system that automatically changes colors and spray patterns as the bottles come through.

So what about the inside? Well according to Tåhlin, the essence of the campaign is the unique expressions on the outside with consistent quality on the inside. Pretty clever, if you ask me.

While the campaign is still somewhat fresh, I’m confident they’ll see success. Vodka drinkers are given enough options in this market, and new flavors are a bit played out. But a different bottle? A unique bottle? That might work.

Not to mention, the core of this campaign places all of the emphasis on the consumer. Giving consumers a unique experience, realizing their individuality, and actualizing that individuality.

They’ve sealed the deal with a number of beautiful ads (two of which are pictured above), and although I’m a sucker for this stuff, I truly believe these ads carry a very enticing value with popping colors and a simple message that begs for attention subtly.

Once the crux of the campaign is realized, the consumer thinks, "they actually care about me." Not only does that feel good, but it loosens up the wad in their back pocket.

Behind-the-Scenes (Short Version):

Behind-the-Scenes (Long Version):

The CRAP program (Craftbrewers Recycled Art Project) was started a few years back by George Eagleson and his partner, Hannah Senitt. Eagleson is the head brewer at Canada’s F&M Brewery in Guelph, Ontario.

In 2009, they decided they were tired of all of the used malt bags, box board, beer hoses, and spent grain lying around, and they weren’t going to throw it out, because of their vowed commitment to environmental protection. So they started CRAP, a play on words that illustrates their desire to turn brewing crap into CRAP.

Their website states that "Our passion for turning crap into CRAP is fueled by malt and yeast. AND the fact that Brewer, George, just can’t seem to throw things out. AND Crafty Gal, Hannah, just didn’t want all that stuff hangin’ ’bout. Our items are really handmade by us."

They craft stuff like the Desk Organizer (seen left below) and the Malt Wallet (seen on the right). The Desk Organizers which go for $38 CAD are made from beer hoses attached to offcuts from a local rubber gasket company. The hose comes from F&M Brewery, and each is handcrafted, uniquely different, and signed by the artist. The wallets are made from spent malt bags and sewn onto washed preloved or mill end materials. There are two inside pockets, and the cost is $12 CAD.

The CRAP web store also sells handmade soap (made from leftover grain and beer), branded bookmarks, a 6-pack beer tote bag, and a 4-slot wine carrier (seen at the top of the article).

The CRAP Program is a genius concept for three chief reasons: Firstly, it’s a novel idea, and with the craft industry booming like it is, it’s getting harder and harder for breweries to distinguish themselves.

Secondly, the concept is eco-friendly, and not only beer geeks, but people more generally, are becoming increasingly more conscious of how their lifestyles and business practices are affecting the Earth.

And lastly, it’s a great way to save some money by turning waste into profit. If this stuff weren’t transformed, it would end up in a landfill.

Craft beer drinkers are usually pretty serious about their hobby. Coupled with that seriousness is a desire to protect their beloved beer, and hard cider’s attempt to sneak onto the "scene" has been mostly fruitless (pun intended).

I proudly admit that I enjoy the tipple myself, but many are averse to it, and for all the wrong reasons. The Los Angeles Times addressed this recently in an article covering a West Coast artisanal cider producer, called Julian Hard Cider.

Many are of the opinion that only non-serious drinkers and fluffy wine-guzzlers drink cider. It’s really an image thing, like ordering a Budweiser when out with your friends at a beer bar. I’m of the opinion, however, that one should drink what they like, regardless of what others think. Further, this association has many flaws.

Julian Hard Cider is working to point out those flaws, and break that association, boasting an older one instead. One that finds its roots in the 1600s with the colonists, who according to Paul Thomas, founder and president of Julian Hard Cider, were all carrying apple seeds, and not to eat apples. "Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, they all had their own supply. America was founded on hard cider," he says.

The LA Times article also points out that hard cider and applejack liquor were the drinks of choice in the 19th century before lager-style beers crowded the landscape.

Another positive of cider, highlighted by the Times, is it’s gluten-free properties, making it perfect for those with Celiac disease, or anyone pursuing a gluten-free lifestyle.

The flood of mass-produced brands made from low-quality juice and artificial sugars have also contributed to the failure of hard ciders in the past. That is, until producers like Wandering Aengus, Julian, Strongbow, and Fox Barrel stepped up. How can beer geeks reject people trying to do the same things craft beer brewers are doing? They can’t. And they aren’t.

Julian has doubled its output over the last four years, a clear sign that this libation is making it’s way back on to the American panorama through the bottled and draft lists of craft beer bars and major bars alike. And now’s the time to jump on the wagon as autumn is upon us, and there’s never a better time to convert your customers to the hard stuff!

If given the opportunity, do you think male consumers would pay top dollar for an ordinary bottle of booze with an extraordinary bottling process? What if they told you it’s the breast booze you’ll ever have? Sorry for the pun, I just had to do it once.

German liquor company, G-Spirits, founded by the the gentleman pictured above (both former bartenders), is now bottling their vodka, whiskey, and rum only after it’s smothered over the breasts of supermodels and playmates.

The barrel-aged whiskey, the most expensive of the three liquors, at $185 per bottle, is supposedly splashed on Hungary’s 2012 Playmate of the year, Alex Vargas, who’s seen in the ad below.

For a slightly lower price ($165), consumers can purchase the rum or vodka poured over the chests of two different women who are not playmates, but still exhibit the traits that the two unnamed owners are seeking out for this project.

On their website (which we can’t in good professional conscience link to) they explain, "For us there is nothing more than the erotism of a beautiful woman. To create the perfect taste, we let every single drop of our spirits run over the breasts of a special type of woman, a type we recognize in this liquor."

The company claims there are only 5,000 bottles available, and that each comes with an official certificate, including the model’s signature and a bottle number to verify its authenticity. Each vessel also contains label pictures of the nude model being drenched in the liquor.

Europe tends to be more progressive with their media, but are they crossing the line with this scheme and the advertising they’re using to push it? Sex sells, and we all know that, but in an age where we are striving for equal rights and respect for women, does this only reaffirm the inherent lascivious nature of men?

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