Call for boycott, "bad taste pub" ... The brand Corona USA, which distributes in the United States the famous Mexican beer Corona, found itself under the fire of critics for an advertisement seeming to associate the name of the drink with that of coronaviruses.
In this short video, posted on Twitter on Monday and viewed more than 7 million times, Corona USA promotes new cans of alcoholic and scented sparkling water, which it will soon market on the American market.
"I am now certain that I will never buy any more"
While fears of a large-scale spread of the viral pneumonia epidemic have increased in recent days, a message warns of the “imminent landing” of this product.
On Twitter, many Internet users reacted to denounce an advertisement of "very bad taste". "I am now certain that I will never buy any more," commented a user of the social network, particularly upset.
Freefall popularity rating
A study by 5W Public Relations, released on Thursday and conducted with 737 American beer lovers, shows that 38% of them do not intend to buy Corona because of the epidemic. 14% said they would not dare to order the drink in public and 16% said they did not know if Corona was linked to the coronavirus or not.
According to another YouGov poll released Wednesday, the popularity of Corona beer in the United States has plummeted since the first case of coronavirus was identified in late December. Purchase intentions are at their lowest in two years.
"No impact on beer sales"
Constellation Brands, however, denied on Friday that the association between its brand and the coronavirus had harmed it. "It is extremely unfortunate that false information has circulated recently on social networks and in the mainstream media about the impact of the virus on our sales without having been the subject of a thorough investigation or confirmation," reacted the Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newlands.
"We have not seen any impact on our people, our factories and our operations, and our business continues to do very well," added Bill Newlands, noting that his brand, which carries out most of its sales in the United States had very little exposure to China.
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