Actors' union protests Budweiser Super Bowl ad

TORONTO, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A Canadian actors' union says Budweiser exploited hundreds of people appearing in a non-union TV ad that ran during the Super Bowl telecast this month.

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists claims Budweiser should have paid union scale to some 500 people who appeared as hockey fans and two men's recreational hockey league teams, the National Post reported.

The 2-minute ad was shot in an arena west of Toronto. The two hockey teams were told a documentary about amateur hockey was being filmed. Meanwhile, the 500 fans were being made up with body-painting, a professional-size TV screen was mounted, mascots donned costumes and confetti dispensers had been installed over the ice.

Such games might only attract 25 family and friends to watch, but the players were clearly shocked when the noisy crowd burst into the arena.

ACTRA spokeswoman Heather Allin told the Post everyone involved should have been paid union scale.

"It's an embarrassing day for [Budweiser] when they're caught exploiting everyday folks in their multimillion-dollar television ads," she said.

In a release, Budweiser's parent company, Labatt said the element of the players' surprise would have been ruined by first making a union arrangement.

"As anyone who has seen Budweiser's 'Flash Fans' commercial will know, it is much more the filming of a spontaneous event rather than a traditional, scripted television advertisement," the release said.

The ad was seen by 7 million Canadian viewers during the Super Bowl broadcast, the company said.