Bud Light remains in overdrive in trying to repair its image after the PR debacle involving transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Last month Bud Light essentially fired the top two marketing executives involved with the controversy that focused on Mulvaney, a biological man who identifies as a woman.
Last week, as The Free Press reported, the company then told its distributors that it was not responsible for that campaign.
“Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement,” the company said in a letter. “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.”
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Bud Light was not finished, however.
On Friday, the New York Post reported, “Anheuser-Busch is telling US beer distributors it has fired the ‘third-party ad agency’ behind Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco — but the beer giant is staying tight-lipped about the marketing firm’s identity, even launching a fresh ad campaign aimed at damage control.”
The Post noted that CEO Michel Doukeris last week griped about “misinformation” surrounding Bud Light’s relationship with Mulvaney, who has more than 10 million followers on TikTok and has been documenting his transition to “girlhood” on social media.
“We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” Doukeris said during a call with investors on Thursday.
“Anheuser-Busch also sent a letter to jittery distributors telling them it had cut ties with the firm responsible for the concept that has led to Bud Light sales cratering since Mulvaney last month posted a video on TikTok touting the best-selling beer in the country,” the Post reported.
“The Belgian-based conglomerate said the beer can at the center of the firestorm, which features Mulvaney’s face, was not produced by Anheuser-Busch or in any of its facilities.”
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Some distributors confirmed that to the Post, saying Anheuser-Busch was not responsible.
The problem for Bud Light was the perception created by Mulvaney. In one social media post, Mulvaney was drinking Bud Light while in a bathtub, and posted the hashtag “#budlightpartner.” Mulvaney also posted a video on social media while dressing as Audrey Hepburn’s character in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and swigging a Bud Light.
Bud Light refuses to identify the ad agency responsible. The Post noted that the St. Louis-based company hired a New York City firm, Anomaly, as its main creative agency. But Anomaly also has denied any involvement with the Mulvaney debacle.
Bud Light began to take a hit when conservatives, such as singers Kid Rock and Travis Tritt, protested the Mulvaney incident.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also criticized Bud Light, telling an interviewer, “Why do you want to drink Bud Light? Honestly, that’s like them rubbing our faces in [gender ideology]. And it’s like these companies, if they never have any response, they’re just gonna keep doing it.”
Bud Light’s sales have plummeted at least 26% since the Mulvaney controversy erupted.
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