A-B loses fight for TV ads during 1998 World Cup

There now are serious doubts over what benefit Anheuser-Busch Cos. (A-B) will get out of its estimated $10 million sponsorship of the 1998 World Cup soccer championship in France. Last week the executive body of the European Union (EU) refused to strike down a French law banning alcoholic beverage advertising. In addition to jeopardizing A-B's participation, the European Commission's decision risks setting France's tough national ban as a higher standard of restriction that other nations will have to adhere to as rules in different EU countries are increasingly harmonized.