Bud Light sorry for saying it removes 'no' from vocabulary

NEW YORK -- Bud Light should have kept the word "no" handy in this case.

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch is apologizing for ad copy that appeared on bottles saying Bud Light removes the word "no" from drinkers' vocabulary.

Photos of the bottles went viral on social media Tuesday with complaints about the slogan, particularly at a time of national debate about college rape.

"The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night," the copy read in full.

The response on social media ranged from crude jokes to criticism the slogan is part of a culture that tacitly condones sexual assault.

The slogan is part of the brewer's 2-year-old "Up for Whatever" campaign that includes an array of marketing, such as a Super Bowl commercial that showed a Bud Light drinker going through a live-action Pac Man game.

The company says there are waves of the bottle-message campaign included more than 140 messages -- with new ones out every few months -- intended to "encourage brand engagement." They said this particular one missed the mark, and the company regrets it.

"We would never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behavior," Alexander Lambrecht, vice president, Bud Light said in a statement. "As a result, we have immediately ceased production of this message on all bottles."

Marketers sometimes can lose perspective when they walk the line between being edgy to get attention and being offensive, said marketing expert Allen Adamson, managing director of branding firm Landor Associates.