Budweiser renames itself America.

Note that I wrote "America," not "'Merica." Crazy, I know, but this is a non-ironic branding move by bud.

According to Tosh Hall, the CD of Bud's can branding agency JRK, "We thought nothing was more iconic than Budweiser and nothing was more iconic than America." As FastCo pointed out: "Since 2011, Budweiser has released special summer-edition cans that feature images such as the American flag and the Statue of Liberty, upping the ante on its red-white-and-blue packaging with a full salute to patriotism—as a nod to Memorial Day, July Fourth, and the quiet American dream of drinking a beer in your backyard while charring various processed meats."

But since this year is an election year and also the Olympics, it makes sense Bud would up the ante. more importantly, it falls in line with brands like Coke, who have messed with their own logo, believing the design is iconic enough to do so. I'm 100% certain it will work fine, but the PR certainly won't hurt. In addition to changing the name they're also pulling out the stops by including phrases like "Land of the free," "Liberty & Justice For All," on the can. No doubt some patriots out there will be collecting the cans, too.

I applaud Bud for doing this. They know their audience isn't made up of Brooklyn hipsters or self-loathing and overly medicated journalists, but people who live in the heartland and actually consume the beer. Sorry, kids. This time, you aren't the target market.