Confusion between coronavirus and Corona beer has been a punchline of questionable taste during the outbreak, but for the brand, the matter may be no joke.
The phrase "38 per cent of Americans" was trending Friday (Feb 28) on Twitter following a survey showing that proportion of beer drinkers "would not buy Corona under any circumstances now," according to public relations firm 5W.
But Constellation Brands, which owns the Mexican-heritage beer label, disagreed, releasing a statement on Friday saying that sales have stayed strong in the US even as the virus has spread internationally, and dismissing the question as a non-issue.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this terrible virus and we hope efforts to more fully contain it gain traction soon," said Bill Newlands, chief executive of Constellation.
"We've seen no impact to our people, facilities or operations and our business continues to perform very well." But the brand also got an earful on social media over an awkwardly-phrased advertising campaign to plug new hard seltzer offerings in the United States.
The beverages, available in four "delicious" flavours, will be "coming ashore soon," according to the spot posted to Twitter that had received 7.3 million views by Friday on the Corona USA page.
"Given what's hitting the news right now, this seems in remarkably poor taste," one critic posted.
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