AB InBev wants beer back at the centre of the conversation

AB InBev is celebrating beer's enduring place in culture and social connection with the launch of "Cheers to beer", a new global campaign timed ahead of International Beer Day on 7 August.

Developed in partnership with Wieden+Kennedy, the campaign centres on a global brand film that highlights the role beer plays in bringing people together across generations, cultures and everyday occasions.

The creative positions beer not simply as a beverage, but as a symbol of shared moments, from milestone celebrations to casual catch-ups.

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The campaign is underpinned by new research from Ipsos and IWSR, which suggests beer continues to dominate the alcohol category despite growing consumer choice.

Among legal-drinking-age adults who consume alcohol, 73% choose beer, while the category accounts for around 93% of global no-alcohol beverage alcohol volume. Beer and beyond beer products also represented roughly half of global beverage alcohol servings in 2025, according to the report.

The findings also indicate that beer remains well positioned to meet shifting consumer preferences, with demand increasingly shaped by moderation, premiumisation, affordability, flavour innovation, convenience and trust.

“Beer is universal and woven into cultures and communities around the world,” said Michel Doukeris, CEO, AB InBev. “No matter who you are, what you do for a living, or where you live, when someone says, ‘Let’s grab a beer,’ you know it means something more. It’s an invitation to celebrate or to simply connect.”

According to Marten Lodewijks, managing director and president at IWSR, beer continues to gain momentum as consumers become more intentional about how they spend and what they drink. He pointed to premium beer outperforming much of the wider alcohol category, while no-alcohol beer dominates no- and low-alcohol beverage consumption, reinforcing beer's continued relevance across evolving consumer preferences.

The campaign builds on AB InBev's broader efforts to position beer around shared cultural experiences. In June, the brewer launched "Cheers to bars", a global platform that aims to turn bars into football viewing hubs ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 while celebrating their role as community gathering spaces.

Created with creative agency GUT, the initiative featured a global anthem film paying tribute to the atmosphere, passion and social connections found in bars. The nearly two-minute spot opened with nostalgic scenes of football fans gathering to watch matches before exploring the emotions of love, heartbreak and triumph that unfold both on and off the pitch.

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