Recent reports indicate that Anheusuer-Busch will lose its “perfect rating” from an LGBTQ advocacy group since the company has backed down from the Dylan Mulvaney promotion following massive backlash.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) rates companies through the Corporate Equity Index (CEI) on their policies toward the LGBTQ community. USA Today obtained a leaked letter informing Anheuser-Busch they would be demoted in their ranking.
USA Today reported:
In a May 9 letter shared exclusively with USA TODAY, the Human Rights Campaign informed the Bud Light maker that it has suspended its Corporate Equality Index score – a tool that scores companies on their policies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.
Companies that receive a 100 score on the index’s four criteria – protections from workplace discrimination, inclusive benefits, inclusive culture inside and outside the workplace and responsible citizenship – receive a “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” seal of approval from the Human Rights Campaign.
Anheuser-Busch, which had a score of 100, has 90 days to respond or the organization will consider docking its score, the Human Rights Campaign told the company in the letter.
Anheuser-Busch is stuck between a rock and a hard place as they have angered both conservatives and the gay community. Recently, gay bars started to boycott Bud Light when Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris tried to distance the corporation from Dylan Mulvaney.
One article wrote, “A slew of Chicago gay bars have stopped selling Anheuser Busch InBev products after the beer giant distanced itself from transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s Bud Light marketing campaign amid anti-trans backlash.” It continued, “2Bears Tavern Group, which owns four gay bars from Uptown to Rogers Park, was the first to drop Anheuser-Busch InBev, posting on Instagram Thursday that its abandonment of Mulvaney amid controversy “shows how little Anheuser-Busch cares about the LGBTQIA+ community, and in particular transgender people, who have been under unrelenting attack in this country.”
Doukeris previously 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.”
Doukeris also touched on the boycotts’ impact on Bud Light’s distributors, stating, “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.”
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Doukeris also said that Bud Light and other AB brands should stick to focusing on beer. “Everything we do should be about beer and should promote beer. It is an essential part of life’s meaningful moments, whether in sports, music or celebrations. These are moments that bring people together. And this is why I love beer,” he said.
Had Bud Light chosen to avoid making woke political statements, it likely would have avoided this entire predicament where all sides are angry with the brand.