Photo credit: M&C SAATCHI Sport and Entertainment
In 1979, Busch Beer made its debut in NASCAR at the Daytona 500, and 40 years later, the brand still has a strong presence in the sport. This year, the team at Anheuser-Busch decided to celebrate its 40-year anniversary with a unique twist.
The team at Busch is turning Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, which featured a Busch Beer paint scheme throughout the 2018 season (and will again feature Busch Beer branding in 2019) into a limited-edition Busch Car 2 Can collection.
“We wanted to give back to the most loyal fans out there and couldn’t think of a better way than by giving them an opportunity to actually hold parts of a car in their hand,” said Daniel Blake, senior marketing director for Anheuser-Busch.
With the idea in mind, the Anheuser-Busch team had to test if such a unique idea was even possible. After testing materials for more than a month before determining the operation was a go, the Anheuser-Busch team looked at 12 designs before making its final decision on the collection design. And, it won’t be easy to win a can.
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“Our goal was to let fans have a piece of NASCAR history, so we wanted the designs to be linked to the paint schemes that they were made from,” said Blake. “The number of cans was always set to be 40. Since 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of Busch’s presence at Daytona, we decided to make 40 cans for 40 years.”
The first can went to the highest bidder in a charity on auction on February 11. The auction benefited Keep America Beautiful.
“Busch grew up loving the outdoors; it is part of Busch’s DNA,” said Blake. “Keep America Beautiful is a partner that drives action to build a better world that aligns perfectly with the Busch brand.”
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If a fan missed the charity auction or was not the highest bidder, there is no need to fear. They will still have a chance to win a can during the Great American Race, the Daytona 500, which will be run on Sunday, February 17.
Fans watching the Daytona 500 can participate in an on-screen trivia contest for their chance to win. All they have to do is tweet their response to the questions using a pair of hashtags — #Car2Can and #BuschContest — for a chance to win.
Blake warns fans ahead of the biggest race of the year that the trivia challenge won’t be a breeze.
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“We wanted our fans who watch the sport to have a chance to win one of the cans in a way that would be exciting for them during the biggest race of the year,” he said.
The collection is special, and so is the great American race. The crew at Anheuser-Busch knows that with 2018 being a career year for Kevin Harvick, fans will want to get their hands on the cans.
“2018 was an outstanding year for Kevin, so the cans, which are sequentially numbered, are truly a unique collection,” said Blake. “The truer the fan, the better the chance folks have of knowing the trivia answers and winning one of the most exhilarating cans ever created.”
