snip
A lot of advertising is done by the lager producers and as a result,
pretty much all young people, and many older people drink either
Carlsburg or Stella Artois...traditional but "trendy" foreign lagers.
Stella, in particular, has a good advertising campaign where the
lager is portrayed to be very expensive and highly prized, coupled
with its Belgian heritage. You can see their latest ad here (which
brings this back on topic if you watch the ad!).
http://www.stellaartois.co.uk/ and click on "advertising".

As far as I can recall, the only television advertising I can remember
for "real beer" was for John Smiths and for Worthingtons but neither
are/were very consistent.
snip

For a summary of the triumph of advertising over taste buds (in the UK
at least), see he http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3188382.stm

I only drink bitter (except in emergencies, usually on vacation :-) )
and have no problem getting decent beer where I am.
In the US I am frequently found in San Francisco, and have frequently
found oodles of deliciousness there as well (Half Moon Bay on a Sunday
afternoon, with somebody else driving - heaven !! at least when the
weather is non-flyable).

Damian