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It’s beer a turbulent year for Bud Light, still reeling from its brief, but ultimately costly, partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer whose image was put on a Bud Light beer can to celebrate the activist’s “365 Days of Girlhood.”
The initial Dylan Mulvaney announcement took place on April 1 and in spite of Anheuser-Busch’s many efforts to put the matter to bed the brand has been experiencing serious sales declines ever since then.
On the public relations front Anheuser-Busch has been doing everything it can to move on from polarizing marketing move. And the Super Bowl afforded the company the opportunity to do that. Anheuser-Busch was uber-visible at the big game with several Bud Light spots including one that featured Pro Football Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith and Peyton Manning.
But even the introduction of the Bud Light Genie or being named The Official Beer Sponsor of the NFL, didn’t move the needle enough to win back those beer fans who moved on from the brand after the Dylan Mulvaney alliance
And in the wake of Bud Light’s less than impressive Super Bowl day sales it must not be lost on Anheuser-Busch that their alliance with a transgender activist has alienated many of their core consumers (primarily men) who aren’t necessarily even political, but just not comfortable with Dylan Mulvaney’s journey being associated with the beer they identify with.
The Daily Mail is reporting “that Bud Light found itself dethroned by Corona as Super Bowl champion in the battle of the beers as the embattled brand struggles to recover from the Dylan Mulvaney backlash.”
(Dylan Mulvaney/Instagram)
According to data by restaurant engagement platform Union, sales in bars and restaurants dove to just half of last year’s figure despite a half-time ad touting Bud Light and the company’s considerable effort to steer away from the trans-friendly image that has cost Anheuser-Busch, who brew Bud Light, almost $30 billion. Corona was the top-selling beer based on game day sales.
And even a surprise endorsement from an ex-president hasn’t helped…
On February 6th Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday, and urged his followers to forgive the Belgium-based brewer…
“The Bud Light ad was a mistake of epic proportions, and for that a very big price was paid, but Anheuser-Busch is not a Woke company,” Trump wrote, noting that that Anheuser-Busch spends $700 million a year with our great farmers” and employs 65,000 Americans.
“Anheuser-Busch is a Great American Brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance?” Trump continued.
“Bud Light is still just stubbornly down around 30% in volume compared to last year,” Beer Business Daily publisher Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital Friday. “I think the industry thought it would have rebounded by now, but it hasn’t.”
We’ve never seen anything like this in the beer industry,” Schuhmacher added.
