I think I have some stunning (and brave) news. According to Beer Business Daily, Bud LIght’s decision to put trans-pretender Dylan Mulvaney’s face on a beer can is an “unmitigated disaster.” You’ve read about all the fallout here on PJ Media from Matt Margolis’s coverage to Rick Moran’s and mine. This is by far the most effective boycott that any woke company that has outraged the normies has had to endure because it’s still going. Not only is it still going but there’s no indication that the consumer base is coming back.
Bud Light, owned by AB-Inbev, is in the toilet while competing brands like Coors Light and Miller Lite are reaping huge gains. BBD reports:
Coors Light cases are up 10.6% in the latest week, while Miller Lite is up 11.5% in the latest week. Again, together those two brands have gained about as much case share of the category as Bud Light lost, suggesting that all of Bud Light’s losses indexed to the category are the direct result of the consumer backlash and not some other unseen vagary in beer demand.
But wait! There’s more! Michelob Ultra is also taking a hit because consumers did their homework and are punishing the entire line of beers that Anheuser-Busch makes! BBD is now reporting that the momentum that Michelob Ultra had is completely erased. Busch Light is also plummeting.
Related: Bud Light Sees a ‘Staggering’ 17% Sales Drop Due to Mulvaney Controversy
Now the news comes out that not only has Alissa Heinerscheid taken a “leave of absence” from the brand but her boss has too — and it is reported to be an involuntary move.
Over the weekend it emerged that Alissa’s boss, Daniel Blake, Group VP Marketing, Mainstream Brands, has also taken a leave of absence, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. “The decision to take a leave wasn’t voluntary, according to people familiar with the matter,” per the report. The moves remove layers so “our most senior marketers are more closely connected to every aspect of our brand’s activities,” according to A-B.
BBD, which just last week was reassuring the brand that consumer boycotts blow over, quickly has changed its tune dramatically, and the marketing experts have figured out why.
The outrage online has been remarkable in its strength and longevity. As AdAge writes, “the backlash against Bud Light was particularly fierce, and long-lasting, compared with typical flare-ups.”
And as beer companies have been publicly and loudly supporting LGBTQ+ for years, why did this particular promo catch fire?
The conclusion among marketing experts looking at recent polling “suggests that consumers are less likely to support transgender rights than same-sex marriage and abortion rights.”
The trans lobby has made itself even more repulsive than ripping up pre-born babies. Think about that. This should give any of you who are on the fence about expressing your disgust at this movement that aims to sexually mutilate children and erase women’s rights and sports even more courage to stand up and say “enough!” No one likes the gender cult mania.
The money-shot quote in BBD is this one:
While it’s safe to say that A-B can’t characterize the month of April as anything other than an unmitigated disaster, the real question is whether this is a transitory outrage that fades within a few weeks or months, or whether this is a catastrophic Schlitz moment…It’s a bad situation any way you cut it, the likes of which we at BBD have never seen.
It’s up to you to make sure that it doesn’t die down now that we are winning. Some people (like Don Trump Jr.) seem to think we’ve done enough. I disagree. I don’t know who Seth Weathers is but this ad is funny. We need more of this spirit.
America's been buying beer from a company that doesn't even know which restroom to use.
There's a new beer in town! pic.twitter.com/JHm4BspZwB
— SETH WEATHERS (@sethweathers) April 12, 2023
And to prove it to you that we are winning, check this out.
A-B has canceled spring equity manager meetings and will hold a closed-door confab with their wholesalers at the NBWA spring legislative conference, which starts today.
If A-B has canceled its “equity” meetings, I think the message got through. What they need right now is not more “DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion) training full of rainbow-haired weirdos steering companies into far-left quagmires. They need to get their heads on straight and get back to the business of pleasing their customers. It may be too late for A-B. Will other companies sit up and take notice?
I’m betting yes.
