Kansas University graduate Dave Peacock, left, vice president for operations for Anheuser-Busch, and Bob Lachky, the company's chief creative officer, say they picked up plenty of market research during a visit to Lawrence. The executives visited KU classes and delivered a public presentation Monday.

The top creative executive for Anheuser-Busch is headed back to St. Louis today with a couple ideas for a few new “Real Men of Genius” ads, Kansas University style:

• “Mr. Blow the Whistle at the End of Every Class Guy,” playing off the familiar Facilities Operations soundmaker that helps students, faculty and staff track time atop Mount Oread each day.
• “Mr. College Football Coach Losing His Cool Guy,” alluding to Coach Mark Mangino’s now-infamous lambasting of Raimond Pendleton after the player drew a penalty following a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“The names are easy,” said Bob Lachky, who pitched the ideas during a visit Monday to KU. “Coming up with the stuff after that is the hard part. I’ll have to call someone, and they’ll do it. : They’ll make it funny, and then I’ll take credit for it.”

Lachky, chief creative officer for Anheuser-Busch, joined KU advertising alumnus Dave Peacock, the company’s vice president for operations, for a visit to Lawrence that included as much market research as it did class presentations and a public speech Monday night.

Lachky and Peacock are two of the men responsible for helping lift Anheuser-Busch into a company worth $40 billion, sporting a $1 billion marketing budget and selling one out of every two beers in the United States.

And they told KU students on Monday that marketing helped drive their corporate message home, convincing consumers to buy Budweiser and other company products to the tune of more than $18 billion a year.

Lachky uses the example of “Real Men of Genius” – the award-winning radio campaign for Bud Light, which already has spawned more than 400 commercial renditions and countless more personalized editions for retiring Anheuser-Busch executives – as an example of how marketing must reach beyond the “clutter” of today’s fragmented media landscape to help build a successful brand.

“You look for an idea that has a star, that links to the (company) strategy, that reflects the brand’s personality, and you stay committed to it,” said Lachky, whose credits include “I Love You Man” for Bud Light, the “Wassup?!” guys for Budweiser and, yes, the “Real Men of Genius” for Bud Light.

“But it’s hard. It’s hard to find the right message, but it’s particularly hard these days because the consumers’ eyes have been so distracted by so many other media forms.”

Peacock, who received his KU journalism degree in advertising in 1990, said the future of marketing would reach well beyond the traditional forms of media: print, radio and TV.

“It’ll be more content-based, whether it’s Internet, whether it’s television,” he said. “People have DVR and are passing by the commercials. You’ve got to be part of the content of the programming, whether that’s a sporting event, whether that’s a TV show or a movie. You’ve got to be part of the content.”

While Anheuser-Busch doesn’t focus on college campuses – “for obvious reasons,” Peacock said – marketers from other companies are focusing their efforts on educational institutions to sell their wares.

Peacock acknowledges that KU’s own athletics facilities certainly have taken on a more commercial feel since his days on campus.

“There are a lot of companies that capitalize on the opportunity to link up with schools,” he said. “A lot of high school scoreboards are sponsored by Pepsi and Coca-Cola because they know: Getting consumers early is only going to improve your opportunity for growth and loyalty over time.”

The visit was sponsored by Callahan Creek, a Lawrence-based advertising and marketing firm that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.