ST. LOUIS — – On Saturday night in Philadelphia, one of the biggest names in hip-hop will take the stage. Somewhere above him will be a familiar logo.

It’s Budweiser’s Made In America Music Festival, headlined and “curated” by Jay-Z, a two-day concert, a celebration of the diversity of the American experience, and – above all – the latest step in a bid by Anheuser-Busch to make the King of Beers cool again.

Budweiser has a bit of a problem. Sales have been slumping for 25 years straight. At the peak of its popularity, in 1988, more than one in every four beers sold in this country bore the iconic red-and-white label. Last year, it was one in 12. For the first time ever, it’s being outsold by Coors Light. The King is now more like a jack.

There are many reasons for this quarter-century of unrelenting decline – everything from the rise of Bud Light to the growing popularity of spirits – but most worrisome for the future of Budweiser is the simple fact that young people just don’t drink it much.

And with a generation accustomed to a cornucopia of craft beer, weaned on sweeter-flavored malt beverages and content to swig retro brews like Pabst Blue Ribbon, it can be hard for a brand that’s just sort of always been there to break in.

“One of our biggest challenges is really just to get people to notice us,” said Rob McCarthy, vice president of Budweiser for A-B. “Because we’re not new.”

That may seem odd for such an iconic brand – one that research firm Millward Brown recently ranked as the 48th most valuable brand in the world. But it makes sense to Eric Shepard, executive editor of trade publication Beer Marketer’s Insights.

“My guess is a lot of young people have just never drank it,” he said.

Focus on music

Budweiser has long had two main planks in its marketing efforts. One focused on its heritage and tradition – think Clydesdales – the other on sports, particularly Major League Baseball, with which A-B just renewed its sponsorship deal through 2018.

Now, in a bid to get more exposure to younger consumers who may not watch much baseball or be so impressed with the beechwood aging process, Bud’s building out a third plank: Music.

“We have an opportunity to do a better job with non-sports fans,” McCarthy said.

The brand has long had a hand in big concerts – the annual Budweiser SuperFest ran for two decades in the 1980s and ‘90s, and it sponsored several big Rolling Stones tours.

That connection has faded in recent years, but since taking the job in early 2011, A-B’s new vice president for marketing, Paul Chibe, has made a conscious effort to find new ways to use music to sell beer. The biggest effort yet is this year’s Made in America Music Festival.

While the series started in 2011, this year’s version is considerably amped-up. A-B is partnering with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, who helped recruit many of the acts, ranging from up-and-comers like Santigold to rock giants Pearl Jam to a reunion of ‘80s rap group Run D.M.C.

‘Very generic’

A-list director Ron Howard has signed on to film a documentary. And TV ads, narrated by Jay-Z, have run in heavy rotation during and since the Olympics. It’s all to send a message, said McCarthy.

“We started with the music, but it’s more than that,” McCarthy said. “It’s a property – Budweiser Made in America – that celebrates the diversity of young adult culture and experience.”

At the concerts and smaller ones like it around the country this summer, Bud is also trying out another experiment. “Project 12” is a series of special-edition variations on Budweiser, made by brewmasters at A-B’s 12 U.S. breweries. They’re serving samples and taking feedback and plan to release three of the brews in stores in a mixed 12-pack in late October.

That’s the kind of thing that might get Chris Melkus to buy some Buds.

The 28-year-old from Maryland Heights, Mo., doesn’t typically drink Budweiser. There are so many other, more flavorful, choices these days, he said. Why drink a standard-issue, light American lager?

But, Melkus said, he’d likely try the Project 12 beers, which include amber brews and a wheat beer. Budweiser ought to experiment a little more if they want to stand out on the beer aisle, he said.

“Bud’s just very generic,” he said. “I think most people who drink Budweiser don’t really care about beer.”