Home
Search
Sign up to receive Action Alerts and eNews  join button horiz                                         Stay Connected 

Michelob Now Claims that Beer Equals Health

Doctor Mike, spokesmodel for Michelob     traDoctor Mike likes to work out. Doctor Mike likes to throw himself into his work. Doctor Mike likes to give back to the community. And Doctor Mike likes to drink.

This fictional tippling physician is the creation of Michelob Ultra, a low-calorie “super-premium” beer. In a two-page ad spread in Travel & Leisure titled “All in a Day’s Work (and Play),” the doctor is shown in equal parts working out, reaching out, and letting off steam with a drink. It’s all part of megabrewer AB InBev’s plan to equate alcohol with health and exercise.

“The brand is really positioned around this active lifestyle space,” Joe Lennon, brand director for the beer, told Bloomberg Businessweek. “Our target consumer is somebody who makes a conscious effort to live that healthy, active lifestyle but still enjoys time with friends and having a few beers.”

Michelob Ultra follows a growing trend of alcohol manufacturers advertising by claiming their products can promote health, weight loss, or physical activity. These claims fly in the face of the well-studied and well-documented risks of long-term use. Chronic drinking greatly increases the risk liver disease, damage to the heart and circulatory system, multiple forms of cancers, pancreatitis, and stroke. It can also change mood and behavior—making it harder for Doctor Mike to forge the patient bonds the ad says he values, or to deliver a persuasive pitch to raise funds for his charities.

A stubbly chest and torso with a stream of yellow Michelob Ultra poured over it

Michelob’s reckless resident also conveniently ignores alcohol’s short-term effects on his own athletic performance. A review in Nutrients detailing the effects of alcohol during and after exercise explained that alcohol in the body disrupts metabolism and protein synthesis, preventing the body from recharging its energy stores and rebuilding muscles. (The authors also note that alcohol itself is treated as an energy source by the body—no matter how “lite” the beer, alcohol is calories.) But athletes don't need to have to look at biochemistry to see the oxymoron within the idea of an "athletic lifestyle" brew. The NCAA distributes educational materials warning of alcohol’s propensity to derail training, citing:

  • Dehydration and accelerated fatigue
  • Loss of motor skills and strength for up to 72 hours after use
  • Increased body fat
  • Nutrient deficiencies
  • Compromised immune system and delayed healing
  • Sleep disruption

All of the above are major impediments to reaching peak athletic form—and in some cases, to simply being happy day-to-day.

With all that in mind, AB InBev’s offers to let its customers (per Bloomberg) “[paddleboard out and] board the Miami party boat in June, jog through New York City in July, or climb a beachside cliff in Southern California in August” are just offers to lose the benefits of their hard work—and in the long run, maybe suffer worse consequences. After all, having graduated medical school, Doctor Mike should already know that physicians fall victim to alcohol disorders just as often as the rest of us.

FURTHER READING: Outside magazine on drinking and exercise.

Torso photo by Eva O'Leary for Bloomberg Businessweek.


TAKE ACTION

Don't mortgage the future.

Bring alcohol fees into the present & fund our kids at $500m a year.

TAKE ACTION
TO MODERNIZE CA
ALCOHOL TAXES



a martini glass, a beer glass, and a wine glass in front of a nickel
CA lawmakers want to:
♦ sell more alcohol at colleges
♦ market to underage students
♦ let the excise tax decay

TELL THEM THERE'S A BETTER WAY

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

*NEW* RUNAWAY RISE IN CA ALCOHOL LEGISLATION
Orange bars surround a spiraling picture of the inside of the California capitol dome, inside the orange bars it reads Circling the Barrel and A Report from Alcohol Justice
CIRCLING THE BARREL:
CA Alcohol Legislative Trends 2013-2022



Recent publications
OUR STORES, OUR FUTURE
Ending Unsafe Alcohol Retail Practices

IN THE DOGHOUSE

On a yellow-green background, a rat stands atop a weathered wooden bar trying to drink from a beer tap, next to a foamy sample glass

Big Alcohol Bids for Underage College Students, Cal State Willing to Sell

AB 840 is moving steadily through the legislature, with few aware of its true impact: to vastly increase the alcohol industry's ability to paste ads all over Cal State campuses, and reach its 180,000 underage students.

READ MORE...

LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY

californiaCA Alcohol Legislation
All legislation related to alcohol policy in Sacramento. Includes analysis & position letters from AJ & CAPA.


Narcan Kit VsmallNEW!  CA Opioid Legislation
CA bills concerning opioid and overdose prevention, recovery, and treatment.



all bills from every state and federalNationwide Legislative Tracking
State-by-state and federal bills relevant to AJ projects/campaigns.




ADVOCACY TOOLS

Tax Calculator
              Legislative Activity
              Fact Sheets
              a dialogue bubble with an exclamation in it Online ABC Complaint Form