In 2005, Budweiser became the official partner of the FIFA World Cup and needed to make consumers aware of this new association. As an American brand, they also knew they needed to earn the right to be part of the "beautiful game". The original executions of their "YOU DO THE FOOTBALL, WE'LL DO THE BEER" campaign ran as linear TV ads. The two new iterations, "COACH" and "WAVE", were Budweiser's first foray into interactive advertising

To engage Budweiser's target market, 18-34 year old consumers; To communicate that Budweiser are official sponsors of th FIFA 2006 World Cup; To offer consumers the chance to win FIFA 2006 World Cup tickets; To drive purchase consideration for Budweiser.

The two iterations, "COACH" and "WAVE" carried the red button prompt "HEY, FOR A CHANCE TO WIN FIFA WORLD CUP TICKETS PRESS RED". Viewers that interacted via the red button not only had the opportunity to win World Cup tickets from Budweiser, but also "meet the Beerleaders" and play a game called "Heads Up". They were also encouraged to send photos in of themselves with their special World Cup promotion 4-pack of Budweiser.

Three sample groups were researched - ad interactors, viewers and non-viewers to the ad. When asked, "do you know who any of the official partners or sponsors of the 2006 World Cup are?" - Budweiser was more than twice as likely to be mentioned by interactors than non-interators. Budweiser was 11 times more likely to be mentioned by interactors than non-viewers. The research also asked, "which beer or lager have you seen or heard any advertising for, or seen sponsoring events recently?" - nearly 9 out of 10 interactors spontaneously mentioned Budweiser.

"We're delighted our first efforts into interactive TV have been such a success. It's provided Budweiser with a cool way to connect with beer drinkers, and helped cut through the clutter of football messages bombarding consumers during the build up to the World Cup finals. The ticket promotion was an ideal hook giving the brand real value by using the platform to give consumers a great brand experience, which has enhanced the brand image and driven claimed propensity to purchase". Oliver West, Consumer Marketing Controller, Anheuser-Busch.