Anheuser-Busch Vs. Miller Brewing

"Anheuser-Busch on Tuesday lashed out at Miller Brewing Company over a Miller Lite ad that playfully uses the Budweiser dalmation.

“Keep up the bad work, Miller Beer,” thundered a full-page ad in the USA Today. The ad goes on to say that the ad has prompted A-B to give a donation to animal rescue groups.

The ad -- in which a dalmation leaps from a Bud wagon into a Miller Lite delivery truck after reading the “more taste” and “fewer carbs” slogans -- marks the latest step in Miller’s hard-right turn back to advertising focused on product attributes. The commercial was created by Miller Lite agency BBH.

The A-B ad, decrying the Miller Lite commercial as “negative advertising,” continues: “Apparently, Miller Beer believes they have to say negative things about our brands to sell their beer.”