Anheuser-Busch likely never imagined that a small marketing campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney would lead to massive boycotts of its brand.
The parent of Budweiser had no reason to believe that trying to reach an audience that goes well beyond the core Bud Light drinker would infuriate a portion of the brand's biggest fans.
The company did not make a political statement supporting LGBTQ+ causes or embracing transgender rights. Anheuser-Busch (BUD) -) paid Mulvaney to send out some social-media posts to try to get her fans to buy the beer.
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Budweiser may have misjudged its audience, but the promotion itself was never meant to even be seen by core Bud Light drinkers.
You can argue that the company should have known how its core audience would react. But had Kid Rock not made his now-famous post reacting to the Mulvaney promotion, the Bud Light/Mulvaney promotion very likely would have remained mostly out of the spotlight.
The same cannot be said for Unilever's (UL) -) Ben & Jerry's. That brand -- which was known for its activism under founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield -- on July 4 put up a post on Twitter designed to get a reaction.
Image source: Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's Went Full-On Provocative
While Ben & Jerry's now sits under corporate ownership and its founders no longer run the company, it has not moved away from activism.
The company has embraced controversial figures like Colin Kaepernick, producing the "Change the Whirled" nondairy flavor with him. But the company's 4th of July tweet may have pushed things too far. The tweet read:
"This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it. Learn more and take action now."
That was above a graphic that shared similar sentiments.
"The United States was founded on stolen Indigenous land. This Fourth of July, let's commit to returning it."
That post led to a lot of outrage as well as calls for the company to give back the land its Vermont headquarters sits on to Native American tribes.
Country Singer John Rich, of the famed Big & Rich duo, was one of many to make the Bud Light comparisons.
"Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again," Rich tweeted.
Ben & Jerry's Faces Potential Backlash
While Budweiser has seen Bud Light sales slump and overall sales for the company take a hit as well, most boycotts are not very effective. That's generally because even when a company puts its foot in its mouth, only people on social media really notice.
There's plenty of Twitter outrage about the Ben & Jerry's post, but whether that moves into a real impact on the brand is hard to predict.
"We need to make Ben and Jerry’s go out of business. Please join me," @EugenieGrander posted.
We need to make Ben and Jerry’s go out of business. Please join me.
— MakeAmericaFreeAgain (@EugenieGrander) July 5, 2023
"I’ve been trying to make ben&jerrys go the way of bud lite for 5 or 6 years. Their ice cream is not that good anyway. Bluebell is better," added Sonic Boom @SonicBo88901113.
Rich's comment, of course, opened the door for conversations on everything from United Nations conspiracies on returning land to indigenous people to the expected antisemitism.
"ben and jerry are jewish BTW," wrote @ArenJayed, who is not shy about his antisemitic views given his screen name: "I hate jews so much it's unreal."
The conversation actually devolves from there, which suggests that despite Rich's tweet getting more than 7,000 likes, this is not likely to become an organized boycott the way the Bud Light movement has.
