Budweiser Gets a Taste for Nationalism, Changes Name to “America” for Election

Budweiser, the King of Beers, is offering beer drinkers a taste of nationalism in a nod to the U.S. presidential election and changing its name to America. The name change will last at least until the election in November, where coincidentally one of the party’s presumptive nominee is a nationalist.

Ricardo Marques, a vice president from Budweiser, said it “maybe the most American summer ever.”

The company seems to view its name choice as something of a patriotic duty. The rebranding is a nod to the 2016 presidential race, Tosh Hall, the creative director at the branding firm behind the name change, offered some more clarity.

“We thought nothing was more iconic than Budweiser and nothing was more iconic than America,” says Tosh Hall, creative director at the can’s branding firm JKR.

Summer is peak beer-selling season and Budweiser, as well as the rest of the industry, projects double-digit increases in sales. Since 2011, Budweiser has released special summer-edition cans that have donned patriotic images such as the American flag and the Statue of Liberty, full with red-white-and-blue packaging including a full salute.

The summer hosts Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, and Americans consume a lot of beer. But this year, Budweiser has decided to take it a step further and the summer cans and bottles will be extended through the November election.