Budweiser Go-Kart

Budweiser Go-Kart Project

Project Description

Hilltop Fun Center is in Somersworth, NH – a neighboring community to Dover. It is a very popular location for kids, teens, and families. Their attractions include mini golf, laser tag, batting cages, an arcade, and Go-Kart tracks. One of the Go-Kart’s was decaled to look like a “Budweiser race car”. It had Budweiser logos on both fenders and one on the hood said: “Bud King of Beers.”

The students felt this was problem. The car was meant for children and teens to drive and Youth to Youth recognized the mixed message being sent to the community and to kids in particular. They felt beer was not a good theme for a kids’ amusement ride and the combination of driving and beer was especially odd.

The students prepared a letter and practiced what they would say to the manager. The letter detailed their concerns and asked the owner of the business to remove the decals from the go-cart and offered to pay for any expense incurred to do so. They delivered it to the manager in person.

Results

Within hours the owner called and discussed the situation with, Youth to Youth Coordinator, Dana Mitchell. The owner said he would remove the Go-Kart from service and replace the decals.

The owner stated that no one had ever brought that issue to his attention in over 10 years of having that car there. It was a member of Youth to Youth that initially saw the Bud Go-Kart on a previous trip to Hilltop Fun Center and brought it up at a meeting of his team. This led to the decision to take action to attempt to change the practice of the business.