You can't ever get enough of a good thing. That's the message out of Anheuser-Busch, the Michigan-based brewing company enjoying great success over the past few years with its Wassup, True, and Real Men of Genius campaigns.

According to Anheuser-Busch's VP creative development, Jim Schumacher, the True TV campaign is currently the best medium to deliver the company's message and image. Don't expect a change anytime soon.

"We spent a lot of time last summer working on getting to our core values," says Schumacher. "We research the True campaign constantly and continue to consider True executions. The 21-54 demo gets it. In fact everyone gets it. We spent less time on one-off's like 'Wassup' and worked on finding a line that will be effective for us down the road."

DDB Chicago produces the 'majority' of their work, according to Greg Popp, the agency's group exec producer. "The True slogan was born out of the Wassup campaign when Bud adopted the word into the advertising. It stripped off the bullshit that was present in a lot of traditional beer commercials and consumers have responded very well."

But like its Charles Stone III-spawned predecessor, it is only natural to assume Ture's real estate in the public imagination will also run its course. Not necessarily according to Schumacher, citing his company's strong desire to build an advertising franchise.

Schumacher envisions True continuing for a minimum of another three years, but feels it has legs beyond this timeframe thanks to the fact it is so well-aligned with Bud's overall branding messages: camaraderie and friendship.

Anheuser-Busch is the beer and alcohol leader in terms of number of spots produced and was number 43 in ad spending in the US market in 2000 at just under $707 million US. According to Schumacher, 50% or more for the US market due to the large beer drinking market. The company is very prickly about giving out numbers, but sources close to Anheuser-Busch estimate the gross budget for one Bud spot is approximately $200,000 US.

Currently, the True campaign is running only in the US, but it is being researched for the UK, where the Real Men of Genius campaign has been very successful and helped make Budweiser the number one imported beer. True is also being researched for the Irish market where Anheuser-Busch feels that it might play well. Schumacher also adds that part of Budweiser's success in the UK can be attributed to the red white and blue-bottled beer's distinctly American branding.

Since Bud's patriotic image (or perhaps the product itself) doesn't seem to travel as well over the rest of Europe, the premium bottle is really only pushed in the UK. Nonetheless, TV advertising takes place in some 80 countries including China - a rapidly growing market for Anheuser-Busch.

There is no question that AB can afford its pick of the litter when it comes to advertising. The company routinely engages some 17 agencies (DDB Chicago is their "mother" agency), and lets them compete to see who can produce the best boards. For the Super Bowl alone, AB sees around 200 boards in July and August. These are then culled down to projects produced in early January. The best make the big game at the end of the month. Compensation to agencies is half project-based and half fee-based on hours. "If they produce good work, we pay more," says Schumacher.

Popp says Anheuser-Busch are, "very smart in that they use no music, no established Hollywood talent, and are in tune with very smartly produced spots that are often shot outside of the US." This allows them to get great production value out of their agencies.

Few companies have the resources to engage as broad a base of agencies in this manner. As Schumacher puts it, "We feel very fortunate that we've won [the Super Bowl contract] and that we can take a multiple agency approach in determining what we use."

For the Hispanic market Anheuser-Busch has translated the True tag to Asi es (a literal translation of True), and in some cases added another: Viva Como un Rey or Live Like a King.

How does an Anheuser-Busch or a DDB Chicago know when a campaign like True has run its course and it's time for a new routine?

Popp says, "As long as its fresh and it is evolving it will be successful. Obviously it is sometimes difficult to tell, but when you stop getting a good reaction from the joke and the 'buzz' is subsiding then its usually time for something new."

"The consumer makes the next choice," adds Schumacher.

Webfiles:
Anheuser Busch> http://www.anheuser-busch.com
Budweiser> http://www.budweiser.com
DDB> http://www.ddb.com