Black Crown, the newest Budweiser brand, is swooping in to rescue Anheuser-Busch InBev at the Super Bowl. The stronger and hoppier beer is expected to save sliding sales at Bud.

AB InBev Chief Marketing Officer Miguel Patricio said the new beverage was aimed at more "sophisticated" crowds.

This development coincides with a trend towards bolder tasting alcoholic beverages. Alcohol content has been rising among competing brands, in part to become distinguished from the packed field of contending beers.

Bud's introduction of Black Crown also coincides with falling sales, as the classic Bud's sales dropped 6 percent by volume during a nine-month period last year. It also follows the introduction of "Bud Light Platinum," another higher strength beer, and "Lime-A-Rita" that is designed to complement Mexican tastes.

Budweiser is coming up with other ways to distinguish itself, including using social networks like Facebook to spread the word. An innovative campaign involves sending a Facebook friend a custom video of a beautiful blonde woman bringing Stella Artois to their actual home. It involves a clever use of Google's Streetview to integrate a picture of the friend's home directly into the video. The main point is to reinvigorate the brand in the minds of consumers:

New offerings are always good, and give consumers more choice. But rivals such as Miller and Heineken are gunning for a bigger piece of the pie, and Bud cannot afford to stagnate on its past merits.

The Super Bowl is of course one of the biggest marketing events of the year, and this will be no exception. Product placement is key to gaining traction among the key male demographic. With both the new Black Crown and the Super Bowl XLVII ad, perhaps Budweiser sales will take off this year.