Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, has lost more than $6 billion in market value after controversially hiring transgender social media personality Dylan Mulvaney to promote its beverage.
Shares of the beer company have crashed by almost 5 percent since the start of April, after a nationwide backlash among its customer base, which normally leans against “woke” activism.
At least $6.65 billion of Anheuser-Busch ’s market capitalization has been wiped out in less than two weeks.Transgender Media Celebrity Tanks Sales of Bud
Mulvaney, a biological male who now claims to be a woman, was promoted by Anheuser-Busch executives on April 1 to be Bud Light’s latest spokesperson.
The light beer brand labeled its cans with Mulvaney’s face for a limited release—albeit much to the distaste of the millions of consumers who used to drink the beer.“This month I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever—a can with my face on it,” Mulvaney said in announcing the deal.
“Check out my Instagram story to see how you can enjoy March Madness with Bud Light and maybe win some money too. Love ya. Cheers! Go Team! Whatever team you love, I love too!”
Mulvaney’s announcement, which took place on April Fool’s Day, left Bud Light customers stunned.
Anheuser-Busch then compounded its marketing move by allowing Mulvaney to promote its beer in a series of social media videos, showing him cavorting in a bubble bath and talking about March Madness.
The controversial transgender personality had been causing a stir for some time, with his “Days of Girlhood” series on TikTok.
Bud Light’s Marketing Chief Insults Her Company’s Base
The ploy was the brainchild of Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing, who explained her controversial move in a podcast, while at the same time, inexplicably, trashing her company’s traditionally male consumer base.“Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach,” Heinerscheid said.
“Representation is sort of at the heart of evolution, you have got to see people who reflect you in the work.”
“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,” she added.
Americans Dump Budweiser Across the Nation
The partnership with Mulvaney has caused sales to tumble across several states, as customers and bars dump the beer in protest.Anheuser-Busch distributors across Middle America and the South have been shocked by the public backlash to the transgender campaign.
“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,” reported Beer Business Daily this week.
Fink told CEOs in 2018 that he would demand corporate compliance with the environmental, social, and governance and diversity, equity, and inclusion goals set out during the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
“To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society,” Fink wrote.
Bud Light’s related social media accounts have been silent since the public backlash, no posts being made on its Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts since the month began.
