Let’s hear it for the “Fan Can.”

Anheuser-Busch recently rolled out the Fan Can promotion to coincide with the start of school and the college football season. The program puts 27 school color combinations on Bud Light cans and markets the product around college campuses. You can buy purple and gold cans near the campus of LSU, and red and gold cans near the campus of Iowa State University.

But not all schools are pleased with the exposure. Approximately 25 out of the 200 schools represented by Collegiate Licensing Co., an arm of the NCAA, sent letters to A-B formally objecting to the use of their school colors, arguing that it serves to promote underage and binge drinking. What, there aren’t any responsible alumni from those schools over the legal drinking age of 21?

It’s patently unfair to single out A-B when college students engage in binge drinking - defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting. Surely college students consume other companies’ products. And yes, some of those students are underage. But schools have an obligation to educate their students about the dangers of such action, and complaining about A-B’s marketing campaign takes time that could be better spent in that endeavor.

Carol Clark, A-B vice president of corporate social responsibility, told the Wall Street Journal that since 1982, the company has spent more than $750 million to fight alcohol abuse. That money has to come from somewhere, and targeting the sports crazy public on game day certainly makes marketing sense. Oklahoma State University Director of Communications Gary Shutt told the Daily Oklahoman, “Color matters when it comes to marketing and packaging.” Gee, you think? And you probably thought the product sold itself.

In case Shutt and all the other complainers haven’t noticed, color isn’t the only thing that sells alcoholic beverages. Sex is still number one. Maybe we should implore A-B to eliminate pretty girls (and good-looking guys) from their marketing campaigns.

Give A-B credit for coming up with a winner. The company was desperate to revive the fortunes of its number two selling brand. According to the WSJ, A-B faces the first annual decline in Bud Light sales in the 27-year history of the product.

Alcohol abuse and alcohol-related deaths, among college students and the general public, are serious matters. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, there were 1,825 alcohol-related deaths among college students in 2005. That figure is up from 1,440 in 1998. And the National Transportation and Safety Board estimates that in excess of 17,000 people are killed each year on our nation’s highways as a result of drunk drivers.

But hypocritical action on the part of the NCAA and member institutions doesn’t address the problems. The NCAA allows beer companies to advertise during broadcasts of its national championship events. The University of Wisconsin, one of the schools that sent a letter to A-B, objected to the company’s effort to sell beer in cans adorned with the red and white team colors. The school argued that the promotion would “create an association” between AB and the UW sports teams that does not exist, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. That’s arguably true.

But what’s absolutely true is that until recently, UW was one of many schools to accept advertising dollars from beer producers. Both MillerCoors and A-B advertised during UW sports radio broadcasts. The deals were worth approximately $425,000 per year to the university. Now THAT creates an association.

Not surprisingly, the government couldn’t resist the temptation to pile on and garner some free publicity at A-B’s expense. Janet Evans, an FTC attorney, was quick to mimic the colleges’ position that A-B’s new college-themed marketing campaign for Bud Light could “encourage underage and binge drinking on college campuses,” according to John Hechinger of the WSJ. Evans added, “We would certainly hope that something like this never happens again.” Of course we would.

If the government really wants to do something about the association between beer and college students, maybe it can convince the NCAA and member institutions to stop taking money from beverage producers like A-B on one hand, and complaining that the companies’ marketing activities encourage underage drinking on the other. Until then, let’s raise a can to dear old College U.

Jordan Kobritz is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network. He can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. He is a former attorney, CPA, and Minor League Baseball team owner. He is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Eastern New Mexico University and teaches the Business of Sports at the University of Wyoming.

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