Bud

rocky25 · 06-01-2008 1:23am #1

The top executives of the Budweiser beer company decide they need a fresh, new marketing initiative. One suggests that the Catholic Church, being a well known, global brand just like themselves, would be a suitable sponsorship partner, so they send two of their most persuasive directors to Rome.

They are granted an audience with the Pope and explain that they want a commercial link-up with the Vatican.
This would, of course, involve some careful 'product placement'. What they suggest is that the words in the Lord's Prayer, 'Give us this day our daily bread', be replaced with, and ‘Give us this day our daily Bud'.

The Pope is appalled. 'But this is sacred, infallible scripture! We can't possibly change the words around like that!'
The executives realise this is a big ask, and reassure the pontiff that Budweiser will pay handsomely, to the tune of €50m.
'It's out of the question!' the Pope protests. 'These are the words of our Lord himself. If we change them, it would be blasphemy!'
So the offer goes up to €70m. After half an hour of wrangling, the Pope begins to relent.
The Budweiser offer is now €1bn, and he thinks how nice it would be to pay off the Vatican debts, and perhaps even get his apartments refurbished. 'Look,' he says, 'I'll need to discuss this with my Cardinals I will phone you.
A week later at the Cardinal assembly the Pope says to them ' I have some good news and some bad news, first the good news. The church is €1bn the richer'. A Cardinal spoke up ' well what's the bad news. The Pope replies 'We've lost the Hovis contract'.