Across U.S., 1,500+ Anheuser-Busch Employees to Leave Offices this Friday in Effort to Promote Alcohol Responsibility

ST. LOUIS – More than 1,500 Anheuser-Busch employees across the United States won’t be at their desks on Friday, Sept. 23. Instead, they’ll be out visiting bars, restaurants and grocery stores to promote the use of designated drivers.

It’s all part of Global Be(er) Responsible Day, an annual effort organized by Anheuser-Busch and its sister companies around the world.

“For three decades, Budweiser has been leading the way in the promotion of designated drivers,” said Kathy Casso, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for Anheuser-Busch. “Our programming to encourage responsible drinking takes place all year long,but on Global Be(er) Responsible Day our employees are making an extra push to spread the message in partnership with wholesalers,retailers and many other partners.”

TAKE THE PLEDGE

Casso encouraged adults to show their friends they care by visiting Budweiser’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Budweiser, clicking on the “Bud DD” tab and pledging their support of designated drivers. Where legal, consumers who take the pledge may be eligible to win a prize from Budweiser.

“The vast majority of adults enjoy our beers responsibly and we have made progress in reducing drunk driving,” Casso said. “So let’s all work together so we can keep moving in the right direction. By visiting Budweiser’s Facebook page and signing up to be a designated driver, you can show you support the important role that designated drivers play in enjoying the great times.”

HARVICK SPREADS ALCOHOL RESPONSIBILITY MESSAGE

NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick will debut a special “Designate a Driver” paint scheme for this Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Visit Budweiser’s Facebook page to watch a video from Harvick about Global Be(er) Responsible Day. Harvick enters Sunday’s Sylvania 300 with four wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition so far this season and currently leads the NSCS driver point standings.

DESIGNATED DRIVER FACTS

In conjunction with Global Be(er) Responsible Day, new research from GfK Custom Research North America was released showing promising news in the area of designated driver use and awareness, including that 64 percent of American adults − or 141 million people 21 + − have been a designated driver or have been driven home by one.

The 2011 Designated Driver poll also showed that 86 percent of respondents think that promoting the use of designated drivers is an excellent or good way to help reduce drunk driving. The full survey results are available at www.alcoholstats.com.



LIFE-SAVING RESEARCH

On Thursday Anheuser-Busch will host in St. Louis a meeting of a working group of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, an independent group of law enforcement experts, at its corporate headquarters. The group recently released a report, Effective Strategies to Reduce Drunk Driving, and will be in St. Louis to continue their research as they search for proven strategies to reduce drunk driving on American roadways.

A lot of progress has been achieved in reducing drunk driving, according to the group’s 2010 report, but experts agree there’s still more work to be done.

TIRF’s ground-breaking research on the nation’s DWI system has been supported by Anheuser-Busch for more than 20 years.

SPECIAL ST. LOUIS EVENTS

To publicly demonstrate the commitment of Anheuser-Busch employees, more than 300 Anheuser-Busch employees will be at the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs baseball game on Friday night to participate in a special flash card section encouraging the use of designated drivers. In addition, the Budweiser Clydesdales will visit several accounts on Global Be(er) Responsible Day in St. Louis to spread the message about the importance of Designated Drivers. Some retailers also will have on display NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Chevy, outfitted with special designated driver messaging. Anheuser-Busch employees in St. Louis, including Brewery General Manager Jeff Pitts, Brewmaster Jim Bicklein and others, plan to participate in Global Be(er) Responsible Day with Missouri and Illinois Anheuser-Busch wholesalers — Lohr Distributing, Grey Eagle, Donnewald Distributing, Illinois Distributing, Herrell Distributing and Krey Distributing. The city of St. Louis also supports the brewery’s alcohol responsibility efforts, and Mayor Francis G. Slay has declared Sept. 23 as “Be(er) Responsible Day” in the city.