The Bud Light controversy has been going on for close to three months, now. The issue kicked off on April 1 when Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender social media influencer, began a partnership with the beer company.
It blew up from there, inciting boycotts and sales dips that have spread to other companies -- like Target and Kohl's -- with backlash coming from both sides.
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Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Anheuser-Busch InBev's global chief marketing officer, Marcel Marcondes, chimed in on the situation.
"In times like these, when things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it's an important wake-up call to all of us marketers first of all to be very humble," Marcondes said. "That's what we're doing, being very humble, and really reminding ourselves of what we should do best every day, which is to really understand our consumers."
"Which is to really celebrate and appreciate every consumer that loves our brands -- but in a way that can make them be together, not apart."
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Bud Light last week lost its top spot in the list of the U.S.' highest-selling beers. It was replaced by Modelo Especial, which now accounts for 8.4% of all U.S. retail beer sales, compared to Bud Light's 7.3%.
"We recognize that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer, and this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees," AB InBev's CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a statement June 15. "We are a beer company, and beer is for everyone."
Though the company's stock is up a bit from its May 31 low of $52.95, shares fell more than 2% Tuesday afternoon.
"Bud Light is coming back," Marcondes said. "It's going all around the country, reconnecting with consumers, moving forward. That's what you can expect from Bud Light in the U.S."
