Big Sky Brewing Co. alleges Anheuser-Busch’s “hold my beer and watch this” videos created by actor John Krasinski violate its trademark of the phrase.
Under its Bud Light brand, A-B debuted a new online video series a month ago written and directed by Krasinski and business partner Danny Stessen. Krasinski played Jim Halpert in the TV series “The Office.”
The three Bud Light videos, humorous in tone, depict unpredictable things that can happen when someone is asked to “hold my beer and watch this.” Since their debut, the videos have attracted nearly 5 million views on YouTube, aided by the hashtag #holdmybeer, which can make the videos easier to share on Twitter.
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Big Sky, a craft brewer based in Missoula, Mont., that sells beer in 24 states, filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 20 in Missoula against A-B for trademark infringement. St. Louis-based A-B is the North American headquarters of Belgium-based A-B InBev, the world’s largest brewer.
In the suit, Big Sky says it has used the slogan since at least 2004 and holds a trademark for the phrase “hold my beer and watch this.”
“Anheuser-Busch’s unauthorized use of the ‘Hold my beer and watch this’ mark as a major advertising campaign falsely indicates to consumers that Anheuser-Busch’s goods and/or services are in some manner connected with, sponsored by, affiliated with, or related to Big Sky,” Big Sky alleges in its suit.
Big Sky seeks an unspecified amount of damages against A-B, including recovery of profits A-B received from Bud Light sales connected to the advertising.
Reached for comment Monday, A-B defended its use of the phrase in its videos.
“These humorous Bud Light videos explore the unexpected things that could happen when you ask someone to hold your beer,” said Rob McCarthy, A-B’s vice president of Bud Light marketing. “There is no trademark use of the phrase ‘Hold my beer and watch this,’ nor is there intent to create any association with Big Sky. Countless other videos and jokes use the same or similar words as a punch line or hashtag.”
Neal Leathers, Big Sky’s president, declined to comment on the suit.
“As we are attempting to resolve this issue with A-B, we do not have any comment at this time,” Leathers wrote in an email to the Post-Dispatch.
Lisa Brown is a business reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Follow her on Twitter @LisaBrownSTL and the Business section @postdispatchbiz.
