Thumbs Down

"Younger moviegoers will be the target of Dodgeball ."

to Anheuser-Busch's product placements of Bud and Bud Light in Fox's PG-13 film, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

Dodgeball was #1 at the box office during it's opening weekend of June 18th, which is another way of saying the audience was full of underage youth. As the Hollywood Reporter recently stated, "Younger moviegoers will be the target of Dodgeball ."¹

Dodgeball features blatant Budweiser/Bud Light product placement and signage. Younger moviegoers who saw the film got what amounts to a big beer advertisement. In one gymnasium scene, co-star Vince Vaughn's character passes out a 6-pack of Bud to his dodgeball team. The beer cans as well as Bud signs in the background are prominent. Later, Ben Stiller's character announces he will challenge Vince Vaughn in the Las Vegas International Dodgeball Open, in front of an oversized Bud Light neon sign.

If Anheuser-Busch is serious about its pledge not to target kids, then they should stop putting Bud and Bud Light in PG-13 movies watched by millions of teens.

See press coverage in the New York Times
See press coverage in ESPN.com

¹ "Moviegoing now built into celebrating Memorial Day", Hollywood Reporter, June 2, 2004.