Recently, Anheuser-Busch informed its disgruntled distributors that it had fired the advertising agency responsible for coordinating the brand partnership between Bud Light and transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Bud Light sent Dylan Mulvaney a special can of beer to commemorate Mulvaney’s “365 days of girlhood,” which had the influencer’s face on the can. This created an enormous backlash from conservative beer drinkers, leading to boycotts and a significant decline in sales. Anheuser-Busch told distributors the particular can for Mulvaney was not created by Anheuser-Busch and that the company had severed ties with the advertising agency behind the decision.
The New York Post reported:
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 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.
“We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris told investors on an earnings call last week. A distributor based in Texas said, “Ad agencies send out hundreds of influencer kits a year, some of which have a customized can included. This was one of those situations.”
It is unclear which now-fired advertising agency was responsible for the Dylan Mulvaney partnership. Recently, the Anheuser-Busch CEO attempted to downplay the Bud Light parent company’s association with the Mulvaney collaboration. Doukeris said, “We need to continue to clarify the fact that this was one can, one influencer and one post and not a campaign… As we move forward, we have adjusted and streamlined our marketing structure so the most senior marketeers are more closely connected to every aspect of our brands.”
He continued, “This situation has impacted our people, especially our frontline workers, the delivery drivers, sales representatives, our wholesalers, bar owners and servers. We’ve been doing everything we can to support our teams, ensuring they are safe continuing to brew, package and – together with our wholesalers – deliver great beer to the market.”
However, Anheuser-Busch’s attempt to distance itself from Mulvaney has led to new backlash from the LGBT community, which is now upset. Bud Light can’t win because it has angered everybody in its attempt to involve itself in social issues. The American Tribune reported:
In one of the feel-good stories of the month, woke Anheuser-Busch can’t win by losing after reports started leaking out that they had offended the very woke mob they were trying to appease with their initial Dylan Mulvaney promotion.
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That leads us to this great moment. Whereas the leftist talking heads were saying just five seconds ago that anyone boycotting Bud Light was phobic, one Chicago gay bar announced it would no longer be offering Anheuser-Busch products either because it had distanced itself from a position of support for the 2SLGBTIA+++ community.
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