Budweiser’s Buddy Cup Makes You Friends

As if providing embarrassing photos from your trip to the bar last night wasn’t simple enough with Facebook, Budweiser has provided another factor: the Buddy Cup.  The Brazilian arm of the beer giant is introducing what are probably NFC-equipped cups to its branded events, offering participants the opportunity to enter their Facebook credentials on a page accessed via a QR code (there they are again) on the bottom of the cup.  After this slight barrier to entry, any “cheers” with a similarly equipped cup will lead to a friend request being sent (and why wouldn’t Budweiser gain a “like” in the process?) and accepted.  While this is an interesting application of emerging technology, its activation of brand values could lead to some unfortunate realizations on the morning after.  The Buddy Cup was created by Agencia Africa in partnership with a digital advertising studio in Brazil called Bolha.