Labatt Wants to Pass Off Shock Top as Craft Beer

An article in Ben's Beer Blog today accuses Labatt and Anheuser-Busch InBev of shady tactics to falsely market Shock Top - "a traditional Belgian-Style wheat ale". The indictment comes on the heels of a Labatt document leak "that actually lays bare the 2015 strategy to pass Shock Top off as craft beer."

The marketing plan, it seems, is to build on the opaque nature of the story of Shock Top’s origins because Labatt feels it "has the small brewer/craft credentials to compete." Indeed it looks as though they look to build on the misconceived notion that Shock Top "is from a small brewer," something that their market research has shown 75% of people believe.

Resourceful types who know where to look can easily discover that Shock Top is a subsidiary of Labatt. Yet "market research has shown that 75% of people believe" that the multinational brew comes from humble, craft roots.

· Labatt plans misleading ad campaign for Shock Top [Ben's Beer Blog]
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