Bud Light uses country music ad to regain “fratty” image.

Bud Light’s Latest Ad Attempts to Rehabilitate Image Among Conservatives

Bud Light is facing a sales plummet and boycott over its partnership with a transgender influencer. In response, the company released a new ad titled “Bud Light Shower Beer” featuring young adults drinking beer at a country music festival in the rain. The commercial is part of an effort to rehabilitate their reputation among conservatives, who reportedly caused a 26 percent drop in sales from a year ago.

Backlash and Damage Control

• Budweiser released a patriotic ad featuring its iconic Clydesdale horse galloping past American landmarks and farmland to make the brand’s image more palatable to conservatives.
• Bud Light’s marketing vice president Alissa Heinerscheid was placed on leave over the P.R. crisis after she received scrutiny for wanting to make Bud Light less “fratty” and “out of touch” and instead attempt to “attract young drinkers” with “inclusivity.”
• Several country music singers, including Travis Tritt and John Rich, announced they would participate in boycotts of the beer. Singer Kid Rock even posted a video showing him shooting Bud Light cases with a rifle in protest of the brand’s collaboration with the transgender influencer.

The company’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney was revealed on April 1, causing a backlash among conservatives. Mulvaney celebrated the partnership on social media, showing off a Bud Light can featuring the influencer and activist’s face and a video of Mulvaney drinking Bud Light in a bathtub.