Topics: Food and Drink, LGBTQ, News, Dylan Mulvaney
Bud Light sales have 'taken a hit' after the company partnered with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Earlier this month, Mulvaney unveiled her new campaign with the beer company on social media after they sent her a personalized can with her face on it.
The new can commemorated 365 days of the influencer being a woman, which she noted in her promotional video that it also coincides with the NCAA March Madness tournament.
However, the announcement was met with significant outrage, and many began to boycott the beverage.
One conservative posted a video of him pouring out a can of Bud Light with the caption that said: "Real Men Don’t Drink Bud Light."
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Another hateful user wrote: “Is anyone else confused why Bud Light put a man pretending to be a female on a can?!?!?!? They forgot who their target audience is!! Go woke, go broke.”
Musician Kid Rock also shared a video of himself using Bud Light cases for target practice, while country music star Travis Tritt said Anheuser-Busch products would no longer be sold at his concerts.
Since the announcement, it seems as though Bud has taken a financial hit.
Trade publication Beer Business Daily analyzed early data, which it admitted was 'limited' by the time of publishing, and found sales had fallen since the Mulvaney announcement.
— KidRock (@KidRock) April 4, 2023
Their report said: “By Thursday afternoon, we had reached out to a handful of [Anheuser-Busch] distributors who were spooked, most particularly in the Heartland and the South, and even then in their more rural areas."
It added: "With the very limited data from a handful of wholesalers, it appears likely Bud Light took a volume hit in some markets over the holiday weekend, particularly in rural areas, which consist of their higher share markets."
Anheuser-Busch’s stock also fell by three per cent following the backlash of the company teaming up with the transgender influencer, as per TheStreet, a financial news website.
Despite the controversy, the company is still sitting at the 52-week highs and is outperforming its competitors.
However, Anheuser-Busch has defended its partnership with Mulvaney.
A spokesperson told Fox News: "Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points.
“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.”
Bud Light’s vice president Alissa Heinerscheid also told the podcast Make Yourself At Home that she was inspired to rebrand the beer from its ‘fratty’ reputation to something more ‘inclusive’.
She added: “I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light’."
UNILAD has also approached Anheuser-Busch for comment.
