Kid Rock led a revolution. While most boycotts fail, the singer inspired people to stop drinking Bud Light and, in fact, it worked to such an extent that it cost hundreds of people their jobs as the beer lost about 26% of its share. its sales over a long period.
The singer got angry when Anheuser-Busch InBev (OUTBREAK) – Get a free report The brand partnered with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The company sent the social media star some Bud Light cans with her face on them to celebrate Mulvaney's first year of life as a woman.
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He then shared his love for Bud Light and the company's support with his LGBTQ+ followers. It wasn't a commercial, she wasn't an important face of the brand. It was a small promotion designed to increase the beer brand's audience.
Rock didn't really like that. He posted a video on social media where he pulled out an automatic weapon and shot cases of beer. He followed that action by sharing an eloquent statement, denouncing the beer brand.
“Fuck Bud Light and fuck Anheuser-Busch. Have a great day.”
The singer's fans, many of whom he gained by embracing former President Donald Trump's far-right stances, took his message as a call to arms. They saw the video as a call to boycott Bud Light.
That seemed to be what the singer wanted, except it wasn't, according to his most recent comments.
Image source: Shutterstock
Kid Rock denies boycott attempts
It can be argued that Rock's video very directly led to hundreds of hard-working Americans losing their jobs, while Anheuser-Busch InBev barely suffered. Yes, the company took a small hit to its earnings and share price, but it is a global company that sells numerous brands.
The Bud Light boycott put him in an awkward position where he basically angered both his longtime customers and the LGBTQ+ community, but that seemed like a minor blow. Throughout the whole thing, the company acted as if nothing had happened.
He continued posting benign “it's the weekend, have a beer” and pro-football posts on his social media only to be buried under waves of anti-trans posts. The company simply ignored them, went back to its classic low-key humor and football-filled ads and was mostly hard-working.
Sales haven't fully recovered, but the company signed a lucrative deal with the UFC, a company run by right-wing, Trump-loving Dana White, and Rock even said he forgave the company.
However, he also said, in an appearance with Fox News' Sean Hannity, that he never actually called for a boycott in the first place.
Rock denies wanting to boycott Bud Light
In his now infamous social media video, Rock never told people to stop drinking Bud Light. He implied that he wouldn't be, but he never quite said it and never stopped drinking beer.
Rock was seen at a concert shortly after the video was posted drinking a Bud Light. And while country artists like Travis Tritt and John Rich, of Big & Rich fame, made a big show of dropping beer from bars and tour participants, Rock never stopped pouring it at his Nashville bar.
Rock's stance and denial of the boycott in the first place have been met with significant backlash from the right, both on social media and in the (more or less) real media.
“On the conservative 'Ruthless' podcast, Megyn Kelly lamented what she saw as the collapse of 'the only successful boycott Republicans have ever participated in' because 'Kid Rock and Dana White want to abandon it.'” Rolling Stone reported.
Kelly made it clear that she was still an infringer because Anheuser-Busch worked with Mulvaney, whom she mistook.
Anheuser-Busch InBev shares closed at $65.07 on Jan. 12, leaving them above where they closed ($60.92) on the same day a year ago.
