Oxymoronic Corporate Generosity

There will be many reactions to the New York Times article Hey, Bud, Let's Mingle describing Anheuser-Busch's promotion of their product as a mixer in beer-based cocktails.

Some may reel in reaction to the terms "beertail" and "beertini" that feature therein.

Others may regard the now implictly repositioned "lager and lime" as more than just a "girl's drink".

But me! Well, I was taken by the sheer largesse of the move. "We're letting customers personalize and individualize their beer," said Pat McGauley, vice president for innovation.

So, at a stroke, we say farewell to the rigorous licensing agreement that we apparently used to commit to when buying a beer. Free at last, free at last. I'm not just a consumer, I'm an individual! How much more patronising than asking their customers to provide the recipes of the concoctions with which they've no doubt already expressed their individuality!