Anheuser-Busch has launched a massive marketing campaign for Bud Light as the beer giant scrambles to recover from its botched partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which rankled consumers prompting nationwide boycotts and a staggering sales decline that has yet to rebound.
The brand, which has already lost billions of dollars in market value, has taken several steps to alleviate the backlash after it gifted Mulvaney special cans in April to celebrate a full year of “girlhood.” A second video then featured Mulvaney in a bathtub drinking a Bud Light beer.
Anheuser-Busch has heavily discounted beer and offered rebates that make Bud Light “basically free to the consumers” in some markets. The beermaker has also taken steps to help distributors, increased its marketing budget, launched a new summer ad campaign, and dispatched CEO Brendan Whitworth to appear on “CBS Mornings” to provide clarity on the now-infamous debacle.
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But despite their best efforts, the backlash against the Bud Light brand seems to be lingering as sales of the beer continue to slide.
As part of their aggressive new marketing strategy, Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch have released several ads in recent months to appeal to its lost consumer base, with pro-America messaging and patriotic imagery. Critics have fiercely criticized the ads, dismissing them as a poor attempt at trying to move past the controversy without offering any apology of any kind. And despite the beer giant tripling its summer marketing budget, an unrelenting sales decline suggests consumers are not yet ready to give the beer another chance.
Here are all the ads released by Bud Light in the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco:
Bud Light Shower Beer ad
Bud Light’s first ad following the Mulvaney backlash featured a young group of friends drinking beer in the rain at a country music festival as “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band played in the background.
“Rain or shine, it’s always easy to enjoy a Bud Light,” the caption of the 30-second YouTube video read.
The ad first aired on TV during the NFL Draft in April before it was shared on YouTube, amassing 13 million views since its release. Comments on the video were notably deactivated by Bud Light.
The American-themed ad was likely the result of a shakeup at Bud Light’s marketing team and came after Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth published a lengthy statement hoping to tamp down the animosity aimed at Bud Light and its parent company. Critics derided the ad as a misguided attempt at appeasing bars and patrons in the south who boycotted the product instead of offering a formal apology for the Mulvaney partnership.
Easy to Summer ad
Bud Light seemingly tried to avoid controversy with its summer-themed ad, released in June. The minute-long commercial showed smiling Americans looking to quench their thirst during the hotter months with images of everyday people attempting to camp, suntan and grill, all while facing the blazing heat and other outdoor inconveniences that can come during the summer. Unsurprisingly, each person depicted in the ad found themselves popping open a can of Bud Light and finding relaxation and satisfaction.
“Crack a cold one: we’ve got an epic summer ahead. Sock tans included,” Bud Light captioned the video.
LGBTQ themes or any other sort of political statement were noticeably absent from the ad and comments on YouTube were enabled. Still, the beer brand received a torrent of negative comments online, indicating that the feel-good nature of the commercial was not enough to placate conservative beer drinkers who immediately slammed the commercial as “dumb” and “trying so hard.”
Backyard Grunts with Travis Kelce ad
Bud Light’s latest ad, released over the July Fourth weekend, features Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce and others grunting as they crack open Bud Light cans. The 15-second commercial was immediately branded by critics as just another “desperate” attempt to claw back support as sales heading into the summer months continue to plummet.
The ad titled, “Backyard Grunts with Travis Kelce,” appears to be aimed at Bud Light’s alienated male drinkers but most of the video’s comments lambasted the brand for the latest attempt to save face.
“Man Bud Light is going for the death blow at this point,” one commenter wrote. “This is what they think of their client base, stupid grunting cavemen.”
The ad was the first in Bud Light’s new summer marketing campaign after Anheuser Busch reportedly trippled its marketing budget for the summer months. The beer brand announced that the “biggest summer campaign ever” will feature a national music tour in addition to giveaways and rebates for fans who buy Bud Light and Budweiser brands. The company said in a press release that the “Easy to Summer” campaign will feature social media content with NFL stars like Kelce, George Kittle and Dak Prescott.
Anheuser Busch’s The Shared Spirit ad
Two weeks after news of the partnership with Mulvaney broke, Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch attempted an about-face, issuing a pro-America Budweiser advertisement that featured one of the brand’s famous Clydesdale horses traversing the country from New York City to the Grand Canyon, passing by scenes in the American heartland as a narrator delivers a patriotic message. The horse also walked through small-town America and rural farmland, where American flags were displayed.
“This is a story bigger than beer,” the ad’s narrator says in the ad. “This is the story of the American spirit.”
The commercial, first dubbed by online users as a ‘we’re sorry’ ad, was derided by critics for attempting to move past the controversial partnership with traditional American messaging and country-themed imagery while ignoring the Mulvaney backlash in the early days of the controversy.
“You aren’t putting that genie back in the bottle, guys,” “Rambo” and “Black Hawk Down” actor Matthew Marsden tweeted at the time. Others scolded the brand for “trying to pretend” the Mulvaney backlash “never happened.”
The impact of Bud Light’s fall from grace has extended to retailers, distributors, bars and contracted companies as the staggering sales decline caused by boycotts has yet to rebound. Over the weekend, reports circulated about a global bottling company who contracts with Anheuser-Busch, the Ardagh Group which announced it would be closing its plants in North Carolina and Louisiana this month, WRAL reported. The outlet’s investigation found that the closure of the plants will leave nearly 650 employees without a job.
Fox News’ Gabriel Hayes contributed to this report.
