Anheuser Busch InBev learned a powerful lesson from the massive reaction to its partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. It was a small deal in which the company sent Mulvaney some Bud Light cans with his face on them.
Then, the influencer talked about the beer on her social networks. It was an effort to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community to drink beer. It became something much more when Kid Rock posted his own video of him on social media showing him shooting beer cans.
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This led to a massive boycott of Anheuser-Busch InBev. (OUTBREAK) brand. The beer fell from its long-held position as the best beer in America and lost about 26% of its sales.
Since that happened, Anheuser-Busch InBev has distanced itself from Mulvaney and tried to refocus on its core advertising. The company has run ads filled with traditional imagery, leaning heavily on friends, football and light humor.
The company also became a major sponsor of the UFC, a company run by Dana White, who has right-wing views but whom most Americans associate with mixed martial arts (MMA), not politics.
In fact, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris has made every effort to keep his company away from overt political statements, but he has become part of one anyway.
Image source: Shutterstock
Bud Light gives up politics
Doukeris never apologized for Mulvaney's promotion, but he has done everything he can to distance himself and his company from it. He made it very clear during his comments that were made as part of the company's third-quarter earnings call.
Consumers continue to want the Bud Light brand to focus on the platforms they all love, and that's precisely what we're doing by investing in partnerships with the NFL, Folds of Honor, news platforms, college football, and our recently announced I'm back to partnering with the UFC,” he said.
He basically admitted that it makes no sense for a beer company to be considered to have political opinions.
“They want Bud Light to be about beer. The Bud Light is for Summer is for Sunday campaigns are about bringing people together for a beer in the moments that matter,” he added.
The CEO, who never made any kind of statement supporting Mulvaney, tried to wash his company's hands in politics,
“They want that beer without debate. We are taking feedback into account and working hard for our consumers' business every day around the world,” he said.
Donald Trump endorses Bud Light
While a partnership with the UFC may seem like a right-wing move, supporting mixed martial arts, or the National Football League, is not inherently a political movement. Having a highly divisive former president defend his product may not be what Doukeris expected to happen.
Donald Trump, however, has spoken out in favor of the beer brand.
“The Bud Light ad was a mistake of epic proportions, and for it a very high price was paid, but Anheuser-Busch is not a Woke company,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump refers to the association with Mulvaney because there was no publicity involved.
“Anheuser-Busch spends $700 million a year with our GREAT farmers, employs 65,000 Americans, 1,500 of whom are veterans, and is a founding corporate partner of Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships for families of fallen military men and women. “They have raised more than $30,000,000 and awarded 44,000 scholarships,” Trump wrote.
The former president, who owns between $1 million and $5 million in Anheuser-Busch securities, according to his most recent financial presentations.
“Is Anheuser-Busch a great American brand that maybe deserves a second chance? What do you think?” Trump wrote. “Perhaps, instead, we should go after those companies that seek to DESTROY AMERICA.”
The brewer has not commented on any of the celebrities, musicians and, in this case, politicians, who have commented on Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch rose slightly from a close of $61.91 on February 5 before Trump's comments to $65.61 at the close on February 8.
If that was a “Trump coup,” it was short-lived, as shares fell 5% to $62.24 by the Feb. 16 market close.
