Ebonite and Anheuser-Busch to Produce Budweiser Ball – Brief Article
EBONITE INTERNATIONAL, maker of a full line of bowling balls, bags, and accessories, has signed a licensing agreement with Anheuser-Busch to produce bowling products with the beer maker’s logo. The first product will be the “Budweiser Ball.”
According to Ebonite president Bill Scheid, the Budweiser Ball–the latest “Fun Ball” from Ebonite–is made of its exclusive everclear polyester resin and became available for general distribution to bowling shops in June. The see-through ball appears to have a Budweiser long-neck bottle embedded in its center.
“The Budweiser Ball was initially sold in April through Anheuser-Busch catalogs to its beer distributors,” Scheid says. Bags and accessories with the Budweiser logo were scheduled to be introduced at Bowl Expo, the industry trade show, in June.
While the initial focus of the licensing agreement with Anheuser-Busch will be on the Budweiser logo, Scheid says the agreement also includes provisions for using other Anheuser-Busch logos on Ebonite products. He characterizes the relationship as “significant, far-reaching, and long-term.”
“Of the $1.7 billion in bowling center food and drink sales, $545 million is beer,” Scheid says. “Anheuser-Busch products are the brand of choice among beer-drinking bowlers, so we’re very excited about this new partnership and its long-term impact on our business.”
Scheid recognizes Anheuser-Busch as a major supporter of the sport of bowling and predicts that bowlers will quickly identify with the Budweiser Ball and related products. “We’re very confident that when bowlers see the Budweiser Ball, they’ll think of Ebonite.”
Ebonite produces a full line of entry-level and high-performance bowling balls, along with its series of Fun Balls, which were rolled out two years ago with the introduction of the multicolored Zebra Ball. Ebonite offered four versions of the Zebra, along with other Fun Balls such as the Tai Chi, the Skull Ball, and the Eye Ball.
The Skull Ball was first offered with Ebonite’s exclusive everclear technology, and along with the other Fun Balls, it’s used by both recreational and serious bowlers. PBA touring pro Jason Couch, the 1999 Brunswick World Tournament of Champions winner, keeps a Skull Ball in his arsenal as a spare ball. With an 82-84 D hardness rating, these hard balls roll extraordinarily straight. The core has a 6.39 RG and a 1.0 differential rating, which gives bowlers excellent pin action. The ball performs best under extremely dry conditions.
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