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%.