• Ad Age, Wednesday, July 26, 2006 1:45 PM

There's good news for beer marketers. After a survey last year revealed that beer was falling out of favor among Americans, sales began dipping. Now, new research shows that the suds are back in business. A just-released Gallup poll found that 41 percent of the respondents said beer is their preferred beverage over wine (33 percent). The margin of victory was substantially higher than last year's poll, which showed 39 percent of respondents drank wine more frequently, compared to 36 percent for beer. "We think this is a real sign that things are starting to turn," says Bob Lachky, vp global industry development at brewer Anheuser-Busch. After the first poll, A-B set out to revive beer's image with an ad campaign that emphasized its social value. TV spots directed by Spike Lee asked celebrities such as "Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli and sportscaster Joe Buck who they would like to have a beer with. The effort also included a Web component.

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