U.K., London - SABMiller, the world's second-biggest brewer, was starting an advertising campaign that made fun of Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser marketing icons, the Wall Street Journal reported. It cited Tom Bick, a senior brand manager for SABMiller.

One of the advertisements featured a presidential campaign where Miller ran for "President of the Beers" and urged beer drinkers to reject a monarchy, the paper said. Wieden + Kennedy had created an advertisement for the brewer that showed actor Bob Odenkirk trying to enter a political debate with one of Budweiser's famous Clydesdale horses.

Anheuser-Busch is the world's biggest brewer and controlled about 50 percent of the US domestic beer market last year. Anheuser said it preferred not to discuss the marketing activities of its competitors.

21 April, 2004