BUDWEISER CELEBRATES THE 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES WITH LIMITED EDITION CANS
SHANGHAI, China (Jan. 22, 2008) - Budweiser, the official international beer sponsor of the Olympic Games, is delighted to launch three limited edition 355 ml beer cans to help China celebrate the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Available only in China, these collectors’ cans come in gold, silver and bronze and convey good luck wishes for Chinese athletes at the upcoming Olympic Games. The gold, silver and bronze colors were chosen to correspond to the Olympic medals. In addition, the commemorative Budweiser cans incorporate many Chinese elements into its design including the flying, twisting dragon dancing in the clouds. The dragon symbolizes the Chinese nation emerging onto the international sports arena. Gleaming alongside the flying dragon is an image of famous Chinese traditional architecture: the Temple of Heaven.
“Sports have always been an integral part of the Budweiser spirit, and we have been committed to promoting the development of Chinese sports for a long time,” says Y.R. Cheng, president, Anheuser-Busch China. “As the international beer sponsor of the 2008 Olympic Games, Budweiser hopes to get more people excited about hosting this incredible sporting event by launching the commemorative set of cans.”
The unbreakable tie between Budweiser and the Olympic Games can be traced back to 1984, when the beer sponsored the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 2000, Budweiser became the sponsor of the Chinese Olympic Committee. On September 28, 2004, Anheuser-Busch announced Budweiser as the international beer sponsor of the 2008 Olympic Games. Since then, Budweiser has successively launched a series of Olympic marketing initiatives, such as setting up beer gardens with Olympics themes in all big cities across the world, and not so long ago organizing the “National Olympic Bike Riding Tour” in China. Budweiser also has put the 2008 Olympic Games logo on most of its products sold worldwide.