Back in April, the media predicted that Bud Light would bounce back from boycotts following its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. They were wrong. Three months later, the boycott is still going strong.
Bud Light sales continue to reach weekly lows. On June 17, sales were down 28%, which is a record low.
In April, Mulvaney posted a video promoting cans of Bud Light. That triggered Kid Rock to post another video of him shooting at full cans of the beer. It began a protest of Bud Light which was America’s No. 1 beer at the time. In May, Modelo was crowned the No. 1 beer in America.
Now, for the first time since the boycott began, Mulvaney released a video saying Bud Light never reached out following the viral advertisement.
“I should’ve made this video months ago but I didn’t, I was scared. Scared of more backlash. For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all,” Mulvaney said in the video statement.
Friday, June 30, Bud Light offered a response to Mulvaney’s recent video.
“We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community,” the company said in a statement.
Anheuser-Busch is now in a difficult position. The boycott first began because a largely conservative group of beer drinkers believe Bud Light shouldn’t serve social ideologies with its beer.
On the other side, transgender communities and advocates believe Bud Light should showcase its LGBTQ+ support. The beer giant is prepared to spend a record amount in clean-up marketing this summer to try and appease both sides of its base.
