Budweiser may also refer to an unrelated pale lager beer, originating in Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic (in German, Budweis) produced by the Budejovický Budvar brewery. The parallel existence of two separate brands with the same name has given rise to a series of trademark disputes between them. Usually, either Anheuser-Busch or Budejovický Budvar are granted the exclusive use of the Budweiser name in a given market. Anheuser-Busch commonly uses the Bud brand for its beer when Budweiser is not available. The AB lager is available in over 80 countries, though not under the Budweiser name where Anheuser-Busch does not own the trademark. AB Budweiser is a filtered beer, available on draft and in bottles and cans, made (unlike the Czech lager) with up to 30% rice in addition to the hops and barley malt common to lagers.

Name origin and dispute

The name Budweiser is a German derivative adjective, meaning "of Budweis". Beer has been brewed in Budweis, Bohemia, (now Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic) since it was founded in 1265. In 1876, German-born Adolphus Busch and his friend Carl Conrad developed a "Bohemian-style" lager in the United States, inspired after a trip to Bohemia and produced it in their brewery in St. Louis, Missouri.

Anheuser–Busch has been involved in a trademark dispute with the Budweiser Budvar Brewery of Ceské Budejovice over the trademark rights to the name "Budweiser".

In the European Union, except Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Spain, the American beer may only be marketed as Bud, as the Budweiser trademark name is owned solely by the Czech beer maker, Budweiser Budvar. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, both the Budvar and Anheuser–Busch lagers are available under the Budweiser name, though their logos differ.

Marketing
ANHEuser-Busch advertises the Budweiser brand heavily, expending $449 million in 2012 in the United States alone. Presenting Budweiser as the most advertised drink brand in America, and accounted for a third of the company's US marketing budget.

The Budweiser from Budejovice has been called "The Beer of Kings" since the 16th century. Adolphus Busch adapted this slogan to "The King of Beers." This history notwithstanding, Anheuser Busch owns the trademark to these slogans in the United States.

From 1987 to 1989, Bud Light ran an advertising campaign centered around a canine mascot, Spuds MacKenzie.

In 2010, the Bud Light brand paid $1 billion for a six-year licensing agreement with the NFL. Budweiser pays $20 million annually for MLB licensing rights.

Budweiser has produced a number of TV advertisements, such as the Budweiser Frogs,  lizards impersonating the Budweiser frogs, CHAMPAIGNS  built around the phrase "Whassup?", and a team of Clydesdale horses commonly known as the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Budweiser also advertises in motorsports, from Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser hydroplane boat to sponsorship of the Budweiser King Top Fuel Dragster driven by Brandon Bernstein. Anheuser-Busch has sponsored the CART championship. It is the "Official Beer of NHRA" and it was the "Official Beer of NASCAR" from 1998 to 2007. It has sponsored motorsport events such as the Daytona Speedweeks, Budweiser Shootout, Budweiser Duel, Budweiser Pole Award, Budweiser 500, Budweiser 400, Budweiser 300, Budweiser 250, Budweiser 200, and Carolina Pride / Budweiser 200. However, starting in 2016, the focus of A-B's NASCAR sponsorship became its Busch brand.

Budweiser has been sponsor of NASCAR teams such as Junior Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports, DEI, and Stewart-Haas Racing. Sponsored drivers include Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1999–2007), Kasey Kahne (2008–2010), and Kevin Harvick (2011–2015). In IndyCar, Budweiser sponsored Mario Andretti (1983–1984), Bobby Rahal (1985–1988), Scott Pruett (1989–1992), Roberto Guerrero (1993), Scott Goodyear (1994), Paul Tracy (1995), Christian Fittipaldi (1996–1997), and Richie Hearn (1998–1999).

Between 2003 and 2006, Budweiser was a sponsor of the BMW Williams Formula One team.

Anheuser-Busch has placed Budweiser as an official partner and sponsor of Major League Soccer and Los Angeles Galaxy and was the headline sponsor of the British Basketball League in the 1990s. Anheuser-Busch has also placed Budweiser as an official sponsor of the Premier League and the presenting sponsor of the FA Cup.

In the early 20th century, the company commissioned a play-on-words song called "Under the Anheuser Bush," which was recorded by several early phonograph companies.

In 2009, Anheuser-Busch partnered with popular Chinese video-sharing site, Tudou.com for a user-generated online video contest. The contest encourages users to suggest ideas that include ants for a Bud TV spot set to run in February 2010 during the Chinese New Year.

In 2010, Budweiser produced an online reality TV series, called Bud House, centered around the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, following the lives of 32 international football fans (one representing each nation in the World Cup) living together in a house in South Africa.

On November 5, 2012, Anheuser-Busch asked Paramount Pictures to obscure or remove the Budweiser logo from the film Flight (2012), directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington.

In an advertisement titled "Brewed the Hard Way" that aired during Super Bowl XLIX, Budweiser touted itself as "Proudly A Macro Beer", distinguishing it from smaller production craft beers.

In 2016, Beer Park by Budweiser opened on the Las Vegas Strip.

On October 7, 2016, the Budweiser Clydesdales made a special appearance on the Danforth Campus at Washington University in St. Louis ahead of the presidential debate. A special batch beer named Lilly's Lager was exclusively brewed for the occasion.

In December 2020, Budweiser sent personalized bottles of beer to every goalkeeper whom Lionel Messi has scored against.