Louie v Frog a winner for Bud

The hand-wringing following the low turnout in the recent Dublin South Central by-election is set to go into overdrive once politicians realise how enthusiastic young voters can get when the candidates are a frog and a lizard.

Budweiser's most ambitious promotion to date is a spoof election whereby voters are asked to decide who they would prefer to star in the company's commercials: the incumbent star, a talented frog, or a dastardly lizard called Louie.

Some 35,000 votes have already been cast in the six-month £1 million (€1.27 million) promotion. Voting closes on November 24th and polling is currently running at up to 800 a day via the Internet and 200 a day on a special telephone number.

The wonder of it all is that there is absolutely nothing in it for the clearly enthusiastic voters. They don't win a prize or even get a free beer.

The wheeze began when Budweiser's existing 48-poster frog campaign was "defaced" with graffiti on the lines of "Make a frog croak". Budweiser's packaging was changed to feature the combatants and encourage buyers to choose one or the other.

Then a television advertisement was sabotaged by a cackling Louie who went on to send out 2,000 threatening mail shots to potential voters. These brown envelopes were stuffed with fake $10 bills and the promise that "lizards stand for transparency, truth and the odd backhander".

Spoof election rallies were held in 200 pubs throughout the State.

While all this activity was branded as being from Budweiser, several elements in the campaign weren't.

Last month, early morning DART commuters were treated to a frogs' legs' tasting, which was apparently organised by a new company, La Grenouille Verte, and special unbranded frogs' and lizards' crossing signs appeared at the side of roads in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin.

On the streets, eco-warriors campaigned for both frogs and lizards and asked the public to sign petitions. The result will be announced next Wednesday and a new advertisement will be made based on the result.

According to Mr Julian Davis, of Fleishman-Hillard Saunders, the promotion is the biggest conducted by the brand in Ireland. The agency created it specifically for the Irish market. It is being watched closely by the beer's US parent company.