USA: The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is investigating Anheuser-Busch Cos.' allegations that some Miller Brewing Co. advertisements are false or disparaging to the St. Louis brewer, according to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus Inc., St. Louis Today posted on March 18. The advertising division, a voluntary dispute-resolution body for the ad industry, had begun its own investigation after A-B challenged ads by Miller, a unit of London-based SABMiller PLC, the division said in a news release.

For the last three months, Anheuser-Busch has publicly challenged the veracity of many Miller ads that claim its beers have more taste and flavor. A-B alleges Miller falsely claims a taste preference for Miller products or unfairly disparages the brewer. A-B also claimed Miller's taste tests were invalid, pointing to its own study.

In December, A-B convinced television broadcasters CBS and NBC to stop running some Miller ads for implying taste preference and disparaging a rival.

A-B pressed similar points before the advertising division. The disputed Miller ads also included those characterizing Budweiser as having no taste because of "taste loss" and spots claiming "all beers brewed in America are fresh."

Before the division could get its inquiry under way, Miller declined to participate due to a separate investigation by the federal agency, generally known as the TTB, the division said. While the brewer wholeheartedly supports the body's efforts, Miller told the advertising division that such an inquiry would duplicate the U.S. agency's own investigation.

However, Miller also said its ad claims were truthful, supported by extensive consumer testing, and not misleading to consumers. "We feel we've got a very strong message, with more taste and half the carbs of Bud Light," Miller spokesman Michael Hennick said Friday. "We would expect that the TTB would agree with the networks that our taste-claim methodology is valid." Saying it wished to avoid confusion or duplicative efforts, the advertising division decided to refer the matter to the TTB. The TTB monitors advertising for the alcohol industry.

20 March, 2005