Notorious Beam Team

From Advertising Age:

"A-B named the aspiring hip-hop mogul -- aka Shawn Carter -- "co-brand director" for Bud Select today, noting, in a press release, that the rapper "will participate in Budweiser Select planning sessions to provide his unique spin, thoughts and insights on various brand programs."

The release added: "Jay-Z also will be involved in providing direction on other upcoming Budweiser Select television ads, radio spots, print campaigns and several high-profile events."

...

It's not known whether Jay-Z -- a onetime pitchman for Heineken -- will supplement or supplant A-B's incoming CEO, August Busch IV, as the brand's primary spokesman. It was also unclear whether the rapper intends to drop references to Bud Select into song lyrics, as other hip-hop artists have done with brands such as Courvoisier, Hennessey, Cristal and Don Perignon.

According to San Francisco consulting firm Agenda, which tracks brand mentions in song lyrics for its annual "American Brandstand" survey, no beer brands were mentioned in hip-hop lyrics during 2005, although import brand Corona did land three mentions during 2004."

Thanks to Natasha Baghat from Publicis Dialog New York for this.