Anheuser Busch InBev learned a powerful lesson in the wake of the massive reaction to its partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. It was a tiny deal where the company sent Mulvaney some Bud Light cans with her face on them.
The influencer then talked about the beer on her social media feeds. It was an effort to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community to get them to drink beer. It became something much more when Kid Rock posted his own video to social media showing him shooting up cans of the beer.
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That led to a massive boycott of the Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) brand. The beer dropped from its long-held spot as the top beer in America and lost about 26% of its sales.
Since that happened, Anheuser-Busch InBev has distanced itself from Mulvaney and tried to lean back into its core advertising. The company has run ads filled with its traditional imagery, leaning heavily on friends, football, and light humor.
The company also became a huge sponsor of the UFC, a company run by Dana White, who holds right-leaning views but whom most Americans associate with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), not politics.
In fact, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris has made every effort to keep his company away from overt political statements, but it has found itself part of one anyway.
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Bud Light swears off politics
Doukeris never apologized for the Mulvaney promotion, but he has made every effort to distance himself and his company from it. He made that very clear during his remarks that were made as part of the company's third-quarter earnings call.
Consumers continue to want the Bud Light brand to concentrate on the platforms that all consumers love, and we are doing just that through investing in partnerships with the NFL, Folds of Honor, news platforms, college football, and our recently announced return to partnering with the UFC," he said.
Basically, he admitted that it makes no sense for a beer company to be seen as holding political views.
"They want Bud Light to focus on beer. The Bud Light is to summer is to Sunday campaigns are all about bringing people together over a beer for the moments that matter," he added.
The CEO, who never made any sort of statement supporting Mulvaney tried to wash his company's hands of politics,
"They want that beer without a debate. We are taking the feedback and working hard toward our consumers' business every day across the world," he said.
Donald Trump endorses Bud Light
While a UFC partnership may seem like a right-leaning move, supporting mixed martial arts, or the National Football League for that matter, is not inherently a political move. Having a highly divisive former president speak up for your product may not be what Doukeris hoped would happen.
Donald Trump, however, has spoken up in favor of the beer brand.
“The Bud Light ad was a mistake of epic proportions, and for that a very big price was paid, but Anheuser-Busch is not a Woke company,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump is referring to the Mulvaney partnership as there was no ad involved.
“Anheuser-Busch spends $700 Million a year with our GREAT Farmers, employ 65 thousand Americans, of which 1,500 are Veterans, and is a Founding Corporate Partner of Folds of Honor, which provides Scholarships for families of fallen Servicemen & Women. They’ve raised over $30,000,000 and given 44,000 Scholarships,” Trump wrote.
The former president, who owns between $1 million to $5 million in Anheuser-Busch securities, according to his most recent financial filings.
“Anheuser-Busch is a Great American Brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance? What do you think?” Trump wrote. “Perhaps, instead, we should be going after those companies that are looking to DESTROY AMERICA.”
The beermaker has not commented on any of the celebrities, musicians, and in this case, politicians, commenting on Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch rose slightly from a close of $61.91, on Feb. 5 before the Trump comments to $65.61 at close on Feb. 8.
If that was a "Trump Bump," it was short-lived, as shares have fallen back 5% to $62.24 at the Feb. 16 market close.
