Budweiser unveils new World Cup signing

23 Jun 2006

The unique bottle is housed in a shrink wrapped sleeve carrying the distinctive and official marks of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup trophy is displayed in all its glory on the front of the 330ml Budweiser bottle.

23/06/06 To celebrate its official beer sponsorship of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, Budweiser is launching a limited edition FIFA World Cup bottle available across the on-premise from end of May.

Budweiser is the only beer brand that can use the tournaments official marks, logos and trophy imagery. This limited edition bottle complements the other Budweiser World Cup packages currently available. These include World Cup cans featuring ten different World Cup stories and special edition gift packs containing Budweiser and an official FIFA World Cup branded glass.

Jim Gorczyca, Budweiser’s UK marketing director said, "This unique FIFA World Cup™ bottle celebrates our association with the world’s greatest sporting event. There’s nothing like watching the game, having a Bud and this eye-catching bottle adds to all the match day excitement and football fever that’s building now. We are continually innovating at Budweiser to keep the brand exciting for consumers and to help drive sales for our customers."

Rockware was able to meet a very exacting deadline through a planned logistical partnership with sister company Redfearn Glass and sleeve supplier Fujiseal, all of whom worked closely with Anheuser Bush Europe Limited at Richmond and the Stag Brewery.

The project was one of the first to be processed through the world class Brand Enhancement Centre at Barnsley, a joint venture between Rockware and Redfearn to work proactively with customers to develop new decorative finishes with clear points of difference.

Sleeves, provided by Fujiseal, were produced in a 50-micron PET material. PET was chosen for both robustness during transit/filling and the fact that it is a far more environmentally-friendly material than PVC which has been the standard material for sleeves in recent years. The sleeves were roto-gravure printed in eight colours, and applied by a steam tunnel process at both Redfearn and Rockware.

In 2005 Rockware Glass became the first UK supplier and only the second glass supplier worldwide to receive the Anheuser-Busch's coveted "Certified Status" accreditation. "This gave us the knowledge and confidence to successfully complete such a demanding project," says Rockware's National Account Manager, Nick Witton.