Editor’s Note: In this piece, we look at how Bud Light’s self-inflicted pain could become its rivals’ gain.
Bud Light’s support for diversity and inclusivity backfired when an Instagram video by trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney featuring herself drinking a Bud Light as part of an ad campaign by the brand to celebrate the end of March Madness and promote a sweepstakes contest for the company drew flak from some its outspoken conservative fans.
With Mulvaney sharing a photo of a commemorative Bud Light can with her face on it celebrating her "365 days of girlhood" series on TikTok documenting her gender transition, affiliate brands such as Bud Light and Maybelline have become a target of the ire of conservatives over transgender rights.
The vocal and explicit outrage ranged from calls to boycott the brand, with rapper-singer Kid Rock going as far as shooting up cases of Bud Light with an automatic rifle while wearing a MAGA hat, to death threats to Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) marketing executives who supervised the campaign with Dylan Mulvaney.
This has prompted Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, and her boss, Daniel Blake, Budweiser's group vice president for marketing, to take a leave of absence.
In an attempt to pacify its irked consumers and restore their images, Bud Light’s sister brands have pivoted away from their inclusive messaging. On April 14, Budweiser released an ad featuring its signature Clydesdale horse mascot to invoke patriotic sentiments in its patrons.
According to the experts, changing demographics suggest that Bud Light’s inclusive ad campaigns make good sense in the long run and are expected to keep the brand in what, according to BUD’s CEO, is “the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
However, the soup the brand has landed in might warm up the prospects of other beverage stocks. While the “woke-free” beer being brewed by “Conservative Dad” may not make the cut, here are some contenders to look out for. Continue reading "3 Beverage Stocks that Could Win on Bud Light's Bad Publicity"
