American “beer” brand Bud Light knocked $4 billion dollars off its parent company Anheuser Busch’s market cap this past week, following a pro-transgender advertisement featuring the biological male known as Dylan Mulvaney.
On March 31st, Anheuser Busch had a market capitalization of 132.38 billion dollars. By April 10th, that figure had dropped to $128.4 billion, with signs that the stock price will continue to fall.
Mulvaney, 26, posed with a Bud Light can in a bubble bath in early April, in a failed Bud Light marketing attempt to alter its targeted demographic.
On March 31, Anheuser Busch had a $132.38 billion market cap
As of today, it’s now $128.4 billion
You know what that means?
The Woke Bud Light campaign has already shaved off nearly **$4 BILLION** in company value
Don’t let Dems lie to you – Conservative Boycotts WORK pic.twitter.com/xLGbs6F1MV
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) April 10, 2023
The campaign was an instant disaster for the company which provoked furious backlash and an almost unanimous verdict amongst its customers: boycott the brand. The result after just a few days has been a 3 percent decline in Anheuser Busch’s stock price.
One such irate customer was recording artist Kid Rock, who uploaded a video of himself shooting stacked crates of Bud Light with an MP5, before turning to the camera and saying “f*** Bud Light.” The video has since been viewed more than 51 million times on Twitter alone.
— KidRock (@KidRock) April 4, 2023
Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light have been silent since the financial downturn. The only public statement came from a spokesman for Bud Light, who said: “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.”
The brand’s new Vice President, Alissa Heinerscheid, discussed the decision to include Mr Mulvaney in the brand’s latest ad campaign, attacking the brand’s reputation and core-customer base for being “fratty” and allowing customers to drink while enjoying “out of touch humor.”
She told hosts of a podcast: “I had this super clear mandate… we need to evolve and elevate this iconic brand… [that] means inclusivity… it means shifting the tone, it’s having a campaign that’s truly inclusive and feels lighter and brighter…”
Meet Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s VP of Marketing. She explains her strategy of using “inclusive” marketing to promote the brand to young people.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 9, 2023
In this instance, the only thing lighter is the pockets of Anheuser-Busch’s shareholders.
