Wow I totally missed this one. Last June Budweiser launched a "One Second Ads" campaign featuring one-second clips of famous songs from The Beatles, Beyoncé, Queen, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift and others, and TikTok users who could guess the song from just that single second would win beer coupons. Evidently during this campaign Budweiser bragged specifically that it spent "$0 on music rights", claiming "efficiency" because using only 1 second of the songs exempted them from paying any licensing fees.
As you may or may not know, there is no such exceptions and Budweiser immediately began being accused of "piracy" and "exploiting artists". Sony Music even striked against them. By the time all was said and done Budweiser had issued a formal apology stating they "deeply respect artists".
Not Paying Music Rights Fees? Budweiser Was Proud Of That—Until the Backlash
July 15, 2025
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2025/07/15/budweiser-ads-not-paying-music-rights/
"...has issued an apology, but according to critics, the damage is already done. The message the campaign already sent—that exploiting creativity is acceptable if it promotes alcohol and wins accolades—has been heard loud and clear..."
Yeah, the fair use policy in the U.S. only applies for education and non commercial uses.