• WSJ (paid subscription required), Friday, December 2, 2005 10:15 AM

Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, also renowned for its clever, high-profile network-TV ads, said it's planning to move ad dollars away from network TV toward cable and new media in recognition of "changes in viewership," according to a Wall Street Journal report. "What we're really doing is following the consumer," an Anheuser executive said, adding, "You have to be in cable and on the Internet and on people's cell phones." The Budweiser brewer is the latest (and one of the last) big marketers to shift its ad spending pattern due to shifting consumption habits. The company has consistently been the biggest advertiser during the Super Bowl, running 10 ads last year. Last year Anheuser spent $292.8 million on network television, and nearly $50 million on cable. "It was much easier in the old days," a director from Landor, WPP Group's branding firm said. "Big sporting events and big ads were a surefire recipe for success. Now, the easy answer is off the table."

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