Bud Light is still scrambling in an attempt to regain its customers.
The beer company pushed left-wing propaganda beyond the breaking point.
And Bud Light paid one shocking price to destroy its brand.
Bud Light has been in a downward spiral for almost eight months after entering into a sponsorship deal with controversial TikTok trans-influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The social media influencer rose to prominence by identifying as a woman and making over-the-top videos chronicling his first year of “girlhood.”
On April 1st, Mulvaney posted on social media, “Happy March Madness!! Just found out this had to do with sports and not just saying it’s a crazy month! In celebration of this sports thing [Bud Light] is giving you the chance to win $15,000! Share a video with #EasyCarryContest for a chance to win!! Good luck!”
Many thought the video was an April Fool’s joke, but Anheuser-Busch confirmed the sponsorship was real.
And it turns out that Bud Light paid even more dearly for the destruction of its own brand than originally thought.
Conservative commentator Steven Crowder’s investigative team learned the company paid Mulvaney $185,000 to promote the product.
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) November 16, 2023
As Crowder pointed out, $185,000 suggests the company was testing the waters for a broader campaign starring Mulvaney.
After the backlash, at least two executives were forced out of the organization when Bud Light plummeted by over 30% with no rebound in sight.
Anheuser-Busch Chief Marketing Officer Benoit Garbe “will be resigning at the end of the year in order to embark on a new chapter in his career,” according to a statement released by the company.
And Bud Light marketing VP Alyssa Heinersheid, the one responsible for the Mulvaney sponsorship, left the company not long after an interview surfaced where she complained about the company’s “fratty” customer base.
Kevin O’Leary, a multimillionaire investor and star of the show Shark Tank, torched the company for its obvious “mismanagement.”
O’Leary said, “Bud Light has become the poster boy for brand mismanagement…[This issue] highlights the power of social media. This issue went viral in 48 hours and most often when an issue goes viral like that, it burns out in another 48 hours, but that’s not what happened here. The story and narrative changed to sales and so people that did not like the message, regardless of where you stand on these social issues or gender narrative or whatever, they took it out by basically boycotting the product immediately and switching preference to other brands that did not make them get involved in this issue.”
Bud Light attempted to rebuild equity with its blue-collar base by entering in a sponsorship deal with the UFC, but so far, it hasn’t done much to recoup the massive losses for the beer brand.
Thus far, the company has apologized with its actions, but only in hopes to manage the fallout for their brand.