NFL Fans Called Budweiser Boycott Number, Received Message They Never Expected..

I don’t drink beer but I can say that Budweiser is about as present of a thing at sporting events as hotdogs and fans that invest emotionally into a team a little too much.

Now, with every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you have a television show that continually gets low ratings you are not going to be around very long because nobody is going to want to buy commercial time.

In the wake of controversial protests by NFL players during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” many consumers have called for businesses to boycott the National Football League, including beer-brewing giant Anheuser-Busch.

In fact, so many concerned citizens contacted Anheuser-Busch at the direction of a social media campaign that disagreed with the protesters that its consumer help line went down temporarily on Sept. 29, according to KTVI.

A post to the “RockItNews” Facebook page encouraged consumers to call Budweiser — whose parent company is Anheuser-Busch — but so many people did so that the line was disrupted and many callers couldn’t get through.

“Should Budweiser keep sponsoring the NFL? Let them know how you feel! Call 1-800-DIAL BUD (342-5283) and press 1 for their stand on the NFL and then leave a message. Takes less than a minute,” the post read.

Callers that day were greeted with a busy signal, indicating the company was fielding a bigger response than it ever anticipated.

The beer company later issued a statement saying that their phone line has “always been available for consumer inquiries on a variety of topics,” according to Rare. (As of Wednesday afternoon, the voice mail line was accessible again.)

Matt Kohan, senior director of marketing communications for Anheuser-Busch, also indicated that the company had no plans to end its NFL sponsorship, regardless of the controversial protests.

“We have many long-term sports partnerships, including our NFL sponsorship, and while we may not agree on everything, we still believe in the power of sport to bring people together and overcome their differences,” Kohan explained, according to CNS News.

In the meantime, 24 percent of Americans have reported their plans to boycott the NFL’s games, broadcasts and/or products as a result of the protests, according to KTVI. That number increases to 50 percent among those who approve of President Donald Trump.

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