I don’t think I’ve ever seen a company make more bad decisions in a row than Bud Light. The funny thing is that this was all of their own making, and they had it within their power to stop it from the beginning–if they just apologized and took all responsibility. But they still keep running away from that, trying to dig their way out of the hole, while making the hole deeper.
When last we left the beleaguered company, they were even having folks at Fenway Park abandon them.
Yet, they downplayed their involvement in the situation to their distributors. “We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” the Anheuser-Busch boss said. They also blamed an outside ad agency.
Now, it’s being reported that they fired the agency in question, although they’re not naming who this alleged agency supposedly was.
Anheuser-Busch also sent a letter to jittery distributors telling them it had cut ties with the firm responsible for the concept that has led to Bud Light sales cratering since Mulvaney last month posted a video on TikTok touting the best-selling beer in the country, multiple sources said.
The Belgian-based conglomerate said the beer can at the center of the firestorm, which features Mulvaney’s face, was not produced by Anheuser-Busch or in any of its facilities, several distributors told The Post.
Anheuser-Busch is telling US beer distributors it has fired the “third-party ad agency” behind Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco — but the beer giant is staying tight-lipped about the marketing firm’s identity, even launching a fresh ad campaign aimed at damage control, The Post has learned.
The company’s global CEO Michel Doukeris this week came out swinging at the “misinformation” being spread about the extent of Bud Light’s relationship with the transgender influencer, who has more than 10 million followers on TikTok.
Meanwhile, as we reported, they also replaced their VP of marketing. So which was it: the ad agency’s or their own bad decision-making?
What Anheuser-Busch forget is the statement they released immediately after the controversy hit.
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told Fox News.
Translation: they (or their designees) made it to “celebrate” the “personal milestone” of trans influencer “365 days of being a girl,” and they hoped he would influence people to buy their beer. You can’t run away and pretend you had nothing to do with it now.
You can try to clean it up any way you like, but that’s what they said themselves. First, it was about “we’re authentically connecting” with people for “milestones.” Now that it’s had consequences, it’s “we have no idea how this happened.”
Pro-tip, Anheuser-Busch? You’re not helping yourself when you do things like this. You’re just digging the hole deeper.
Now, they’re getting wrecked from both sides, as the left is angry with them as well.
Several LGBTQ+ bars on Chicago’s North Side are dropping all Anheuser-Busch products from their establishments, even as the right is still boycotting Bud Light.
At 2Bears Tavern Uptown, Mark Robertson cracked open a Bud Light, not to drink, but to pour down the drain.
“Unlike what we would expect from Anheuser-Busch, that had a history of supporting LGBTQ events and programing, sponsoring things like pride in Chicago, they chose to side with hate,” Robertson said.
Robertson said Anheuser-Busch should be ashamed of what he says is its lack of conviction and support of his community.
“They have continued to redouble their negative response, and keep saying ‘Oops, we made a mistake. We made a mistake,’ which is essentially saying supporting the LGBTQ community, specifically the ‘T,’ in this case, was a mistake. And, that’s disgusting,” Robertson said. [….]
Now, 2Bears group has removed all traces of Anheuser-Busch products. There are no taps, no beers, and even the Busch name has been covered with electrical tape on the bar. And, trailblazing Northalsted LGBTQ+ bar Sidetrack has also stated online that it is dropping all Anheuser-Busch Products.
Anheuser-Busch made another statement in response to the bars’ actions which again, isn’t likely to make anyone happy.
“We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations to drive economic prosperity across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Bud Light sales have fallen more than 36 percent the week ending April 22, with a 21 percent drop the prior week, and 11 percent the week before that.
At this point, Anheuser-Busch is truly clueless; they just can’t seem to figure out how not to keep stepping in things.
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