Anheuser-Busch (BUD) is finding out in real time just how choppy the waters can get when corporations wade into the culture wars that are at the center of the social media conversation these days.
Bud Light has been America's most popular beer for years, but now people on both sides of the political aisle are disavowing the drink.
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Gay bars in Chicago have reportedly faced online harassment for refusing to sell AB InBev products after the company distanced itself from an ad campaign featuring a transgender influencer.
"Bud Light had been a brand of fratty, kind of out of touch humor and it was really important that we had another approach," Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light's former VP of marketing said in an interview before she took a leave of absence following the backlash against the Dylan Mulvaney ad campaign.
"I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light and it was this brand is in decline, it has been in decline for a really long time. And if we don't attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light. So I had this super clear mandate. We have to evolve and elevate this really iconic brand."
But that "fratty, kind of out of touch" brand was popular enough to make Bud Light -- a beer that won't win any tasting competitions -- the most popular beer in the country. And those fans would rather shoot cases of Bud Light with automatic rifles on social media than be associated with the brand.
So in a way, Bud Light has managed to unite both the anti-trans and pro-trans factions of the country by focusing their anger on the brand.
But this is where the size of a global corporation like Anheuser-Busch InBev comes into play.
While Bud Light might be at the center of a cultural identity for many American beer drinkers, the truth is Bud Light only represents a fraction of the $14.2 billion in revenue and more than $4 billion in profits the company reported in its most recent quarter.
"With respect to the current situation and the impact of Bud Light sales, it is too early to have a full view -- Bud Light's volume decline ... would represent around 1% of our overall global volumes for that period," explained Anheuser Busch CEO Michael Doukeris.
"Bud Light is very important to our U.S. business, and I would never minimize the situation. However, seeing the context of our global company provides perspective."
