Anheuser-Busch Really Wants Us to Forget About Trans Ad Trainwreck

Anheuser-Busch-InBev CEO Michel Doukeris addressed the Bud Light controversy on an earnings call with investors Thursday, downplaying the brand’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney that prompted a boycott from conservatives.

Doukeris told investors that he believes there is “misinformation” about the company’s partnership with Mulvaney, who had posted Bud Light beer cans with the influencer’s likeness on Instagram last month, and said it was not an advertising campaign. Conservatives and some country singers called for a boycott of the company’s products.

“We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post, and not a campaign,” Doukeris said, adding that frontline workers who are being impacted by the boycott are given financial support. He was referring to Mulvaney’s social media post.

“We believe we have the experience, the resources and the partners to manage this. And our four-year growth outlook is unchanged,” Doukeris remarked. “We want to reiterate our support for our wholesaler partners and everyone who brings our great beers to the market. I can tell you that we have the agility, resources and people to support the U.S. team and move forward,” he added.

The company will triple its planned investment around Bud Light over the summer, he said, adding that it was offering more support to wholesalers and other frontline workers.

Bud Light’s overall sales for the week of April 17 plunged by 26 percent, reports say. That came after a 21 percent drop the week prior, and an 11 percent decline in the week before.

Bud Light beer cans sit on a table in right field during the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., on Sept. 19, 2019. (Rob Carr/Getty Images) After Mulvaney’s post, some conservative celebrities have spoken out against the partnership. Singer Travis Tritt said he was dropping Anheuser-Busch products from his tour, Kid Rock shot cases of Bud Light on social media, and singer John Rich said that he would replace the product at his Nashville bar.

Weeks after the boycott was launched, Mulvaney suggested in a social media video that some news outlets should be censored amid the backlash. “Like, the articles written about me using ‘he’ pronouns and calling me a man over and over again, I feel like that should be illegal,” Mulvaney said.

As Bud Light’s sales have faltered in recent days, beer competitors Coors Light and Miller Lite have seen nearly an 18 percent increase, according to Nielsen data.

Robert Lachky, the former chief creative officer at Anheuser-Busch, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Bud Light using a transgender influencer was a major mistake. He suggested that the corporate executives within Anheuser-Busch appear to be out of touch with the consumer base.

”The minute you step into the political or religious spectrum, when you know your target audience is going to have a real issue with this, you know you’ve alienated at least half of your target audience,” he said. ”In the end, people don’t like getting preached to, especially when it comes to drinking beer.”

Lachky added: ”None of these marketing folks has ever been to a NASCAR race, none has been to a football game or a rodeo,” adding: “That’s insanity. That’s marketing incompetence.”

It comes as a letter issued by a Anheuser-Busch distributor, Grey Eagle, earlier this week insisted that the company did not intend to wade into controversy with the partnership.

“Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement,” the letter said, according to multiple reports. “In reality, the Bud Light can posted by a social media influencer that sparked all the conversation was provided by an outside agency without Anheuser-Busch management awareness or approval.”

Going a step further, the letter said that there was a “lack of oversight and control” over Bud Light’s marketing decisions. A new vice president of Bud Light marketing is being selected, the letter continued.

Two advertising executives have taken a leave in the wake of the controversy, the company confirmed last month. Alissa Heinerscheid, who has been vice president of marketing for Bud Light for nearly a year, has taken a leave of absence, and Daniel Blake, vice president for mainstream brands at Anheuser-Busch, stepped back from his role.

“Given the circumstances, Alissa has decided to take a leave of absence, which we support,” an Anheuser-Busch spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal in a statement. “Daniel has also decided to take a leave of absence.”

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