Fact Sheet:
Putting Anheuser-Busch's Consumer Responsibility Campaign Into Perspective

In the November 2, 2000, Wall Street Journal article On Many Campuses, Big Brewers Play a Role in New Alcohol Policies, the Anheuser-Busch Company claims to have spent more than $300 million on alcohol education and awareness efforts since 1982. That amounts to an average of some $16 million per year. When put into perspective, the amount pales in comparison to its advertising and promotional expenditures. For the five years between 1995 and 1999, Anheuser-Busch spent more than $1.4 billion on measured media advertising alone, and likely as much on sponsorships and promotions. In 1999, the company spent more than $320 million on advertising, more than 40 percent of the beer industry's total advertising expenditures for that year. In comparison, the 1999 budget of National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) was only $243 million.(1)

Beer Industry Advertising Expenditures, 1995-1999 ($ 3.74 Billion)
($$ in Thousands)

1.The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supports and conducts research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems.

Click here for additional information on wine and liquor industry advertising expenditures for 1995-1999.