Beer drinkers of a certain age remember tossing down a few schooners of Schlitz, "the beer that made Milwaukee famous." The brand still exists, but barely. The brewery itself has been turned into an upscale office park in Milwaukee, and the rights to the Schlitz name and logo belong to erstwhile rival Pabst, which brews it in small quantities--along with such other fine beverages as Schlitz Malt Liquor and Schlitz Bull Ice.
Why do I bring this up? Because Schlitz beer went down in history as a textbook case of brand suicide....
Fifty years ago, Anheuser-Busch had just passed Schlitz and become America's largest brewery. For years afterward, A-B struggled to stay ahead of Schlitz. It finally pulled ahead during the 1970s, thanks to Augie Busch III's insistence on quality and an incredibly dumb move on the part of Schlitz management. Philip Van Munching, whose family imported Heineken into this country for years, explained in his 1997 book Beer Blast: "There are two ways to increase capacity in the brewing business. The first is to build more of it by expanding existing breweries or investing in new ones, as Budweiser was doing as quickly as possible. The second is to reduce the brewing cycle and get more beer from the same brewery in less time."
In 1976, Schlitz took the second option: it cut the brewing cycle to 15 days, compared to 40 days at A-B. Van Munching observed that beer drinkers might not notice small changes in quality, but they would notice major ones, like haze and a mucus-like substance which appeared in some Schlitz containers. The additional contents were the result of proteins and tannins; although they were harmless, they were icky-looking and definitely did not encourage consumption. Schlitz's CEO decided not to recall the beer, figuring that not much of it actually would be spoiled by exposure to heat. But even in pre-Internet days, word got around. What got spoiled in the process was Schlitz's reputation. The brand never recovered.
Going into their national convention in September, the Republican Party was already losing market share and was struggling to regain the number-one spot. John McCain, the titular CEO of the party, took a gamble similar to what Schlitz management did with the brewing cycle--namely, put Sarah Palin on the ticket. Almost immediately, the public noticed that the product had changed for the worse. Even less-alert members of the Fourth Estate--like Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric--noticed as well. How did McCain react to this? He defended both the choice of Palin and her low-road, slash-and-burn campaign. That is just as bad as keeping bad beer on the shelves despite knowing that the very sight of it was making beer drinkers want to gag.
Americans will remember this campaign, and not for reasons that the Republican Party intended. The GOP brand has suffered lasting damage.
A postscript: Recently, "The Classic 60's Formula" for Schlitz", using a recipe from the brand's heyday, has hit the shelves in Wisconsin. Which makes me wonder: Is there any chance that the GOP brand will try to regain its appeal by going back to the 1960s and resurrecting moderate Republicanism? I didn't think so either.