Back in the day Bud Light was all the rage. It was the beer of choice for the masses. When I owned a bar we ordered as much Bud Light as all other beers combined. Maybe due to the craft beer rage, it has lost some of its luster, but I gotta believe it is still the biggest selling brand.
That’s why it makes no sense to me why the head honchos at Anheuser-Busch would concoct an ad campaign featuring trans-Tik Tok influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In commercials on TV and online, we see Dylan prancing across our screens touting Bud Light in a way that disgusts many of their drinkers.
Poor Augie Busch has to be rolling over in his grave. He built a fantastic company based on traditional values. After his death that company was sold to a Brazilian beermaker called InBev. They now call the shots at Anheuser-Busch.
Don’t get me wrong. The trans population has every right to drink the beer of their choice. What I don’t get is why would you pay for a commercial specifically appealing to that population when you know it is going to piss off a good share of your customers.
And if you believe the stock market and others in the know, the brand has plummeted in sales. Several bars have stopped ordering Bud Light, others have publicly shown their disdain on social media for the now Woke brand.
The oldest American brewed beer believe it or not is not Budweiser, but Yuengling. Yes you read it right- Yuengling has been brewed in Pennsylvania since 1829. And they more than any other competitor are attempting to capitalize on Anheuser Busch’s marketing mistake.
This is what they tweeted:
“Yuengling. The Oldest Brewery In America,” the post stated. “Independently Owned and Family Operated since 1829 because we make good beer.” There’s no talk of dredging up wannabe drag queens and posting their simpering faces where they have no place being. Nothing to do with “equity.”
Now this might be a bit harsh and derogatory to the trans community, but for those middle-aged beer drinkers in mid-America, and there are millions of them, it hits home. Bud Light was their beer of choice. Yuengling is trying to bring them over to their good beer.
My hope is that other international companies that are bullied in to “going woke” put up a fight. There is nothing wrong with sticking with traditional values and marketing campaigns. We don’t need to jump on board with the latest woke movement, whether it be “Me Too”, Black Lives Matter, or the trans activist movement.
I suspect the Bud Light backlash will be a subject of discussion in most board rooms. It was bound to happen at some point. Bud Light was only the flashpoint. I’m hoping those boardroom discussions will lead to an understanding that “woke” doesn’t sell product. It is only a cultural statement. What sells product is traditional marketing that appeals to 90% of America, not 10%.
They’re not appealing to the 10%; it’s the 0.001%
It’s called inclusivity. But I guess to you if you’re not a white, straight, Christian then you don’t count. I think maybe you need to move to Florida where they embrace people like you.
Anyone could drink budlight before the goofy ad. There wasn’t any one group of (special) people it was made for. That’s their problem. They need to get in everyones face about who they are.
My god if you like the product use it. It you don’t then don’t. But quit with your “woke” dog whistle.
Definition of “woke” – alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination.
If that’s what you’re against then you are a truly disgusting individual.
This is the most common sense editorial I have read in a long time! Thank you for saying what soooo many of us are really thinking. Go woke, Go broke.
Mike, your comments are extremely ‘harsh and derogatory to the trans community.’ This group of people are being targeted for political gain by the current version of MAGA Republicanism and it is reprehensible. Being ‘woke’ is to be aware of prejudice and bigotry, which is still alive and well in American culture. I would be happy to stop by your office sometime and talk with you about my experience, limited as it is, with transgender individuals. It is an awful thing to see the GOP (and local small town newspaper editors) pile on the derogatory comments and stigmatization of individuals who they don’t know and don’t care about. Please, don’t fan the flames of hate against people that are already stigmatized. It is horrifying for those of us who know and love them. Please, just stop.
So trying to expand your customer base is now considered “woke”?
I’m OK with people boycotting a product because they don’t like the views or practices of a company. What I’m against and what is a much more concerning issue than your anti niche marketing is, DeSantis bringing the full power of his state’s government against a company for expressing their free speech on an issue of importance to them and their employees. Government censorship of free speech and using tax payer funds to go after political enemies is a much more serious issue. Perhaps you might muse on that.