Bud Light collapse continues as beer sales plummet to third place



The Bud Light-transgender debacle is apparently continuing to take a toll on the brand after a report found that it had slipped from second place to third place among beers.

Bud Light was the focus of a national boycott after a transgender activist announced a partnership with the brand to celebrate the activist's "100 days of girlhood" campaign on social media.

'I'm not someone who holds a f**king grudge his whole life.'

The brand had previously been at the top slot before the boycott eroded its market share. Last year, Modelo Especial eclipsed Bud Light and remains at the top, but second place has now been claimed by Michelob Ultra, according to the latest report.

Both Bud Light and Michelob Ultra are brewed by Anheuser-Busch, whose stock has lost about 10% of market value since the transgender controversy.

An Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said only that “millions of consumers choose Bud Light every day” in response to the report and added that Bud Light “will always be a mainstay of our iconic portfolio.”

Some of those who were most critical of Bud Light eventually abandoned the boycott. Kid Rock, who amplified the boycott by shooting cases of Budweiser with a gun, later said that he supported the brand after realizing how many American jobs were in the balance.

"I'm not someone who holds a f***ing grudge his whole life," said the musician.

Joe Rogan also defended Bud Light while drinking the beer with a guest on his popular podcast show in April 2023.

In February, the brand hired comedian Shane Gillis as a spokesperson to help regain its consumer base.

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Bud Light marketing executive resigns as sales continue to collapse over transgender controversy



Seven months after Bud Light's transgender campaign debacle erupted, Anheuser-Busch InBev's top marketing executive is leaving the company.

The company said Wednesday that its U.S. chief marketing officer Benoit Garbe will resign by the end of the year in order "to embark on a new chapter in his career."

Garbe has worked at the company for more than a decade and was promoted to the lead of U.S. marketing in September 2021.

Sales of the beer giant suffered after transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney announced a marketing campaign in April celebrating the activist's transitioning from a biological male. Critics responded by calling for a boycott against Bud Light and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev.

The boycott was fueled by a video from rap artist Kid Rock that showed him shooting boxes of Bud Light and proclaiming, “F*** Bud Light, and f*** Anheuser-Busch! Have a nice day!" The video garnered more than 53 million views on social media.

The company has lost billions in sales and stock valuation since April. Mulvaney also turned against the company and accused them of forsaking the influencer after the resultant backlash.

In July, some beer distributors said that they had lost hope for the brand regaining their sales share from before the controversy.

“Consumers have made a choice,” said one distributor from Texas. “They have left [Bud Light] and that’s how it’s going to be. I don’t envision a big percentage of them coming back."

The company said that after Garbe leaves the company chief commercial officer Kyle Norrington will take over as marketing chief and handle "brand plans and portfolio strategy."

In August, Kid Rock was spotted drinking Bud Light again despite his initial response.

Here's more about the Bud Light boycott:

Bud Light, Target Boycotts ARE WORKING, Will They LAST? www.youtube.com

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Anheuser-Busch is selling off beer brands as Bud Light catastrophe continues



The parent company of Bud Light is selling off several beer brands as the transgender public relations catastrophe drags on.

On Tuesday, Tilray Brands, a cannabis company, said it had reached an agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev to purchase eight craft beer and beverage brands, including Shock Top, Blue Point, Breckenridge Brewery, Redhook Brewery, and HiBall Energy.

The eight brands represent less than 1% of the company's craft beer assets and represent the company's “less stellar-performing assets,” according to Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights.

Anheuser-Busch reported a drop of 10% in sales in the U.S. in the second quarter and attributed much of that to a steep drop in Bud Light sales after conservatives declared a boycott against the brand. Sales to U.S. retailers dropped by 14% in the second quarter, while U.S. sales to wholesalers fell by 15%.

The PR nightmare began when transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted on Instagram about a partnership with Bud Light to publicize its March Madness marketing campaign. Critics lambasted the beer brand, and the furor increased when comments from a marketing executive mocking the brand's traditional fan base resurfaced on social media.

Mulvaney has since accused the company of abandoning the influencer while critics attacked the marketing campaign. Anheuser-Busch has fired some marketing executives and also initiated layoffs of corporate employees in the U.S.

While executives at the company have said it is confident sales will recover eventually, some distributors have been quoted as saying the brand will not recover from the boycott.

Bud Light has also lost the title of the best-selling beer in the U.S. after reigning for over two decades.

Here's more about the decline in Bud Light sales:

Bud Light boycott weighs on AB InBev U.S. result www.youtube.com

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Bud Light marketing exec says the brand will recover but calls trans debacle a 'wake-up call' for all companies



A marketing executive at the parent company of Bud Light said that the brand would recover from the Dylan Mulvaney controversy but added that the debacle was a "wake-up call" for all companies.

Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch have been absolutely pilloried on social media after entering into a marketing partnership with Mulvaney, a transgender TikTok influencer.

Anheuser-Busch’s global chief marketing officer, Marcel Marcondes, made the comments on Monday at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

“When things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers to be very humble,” said Marcondes.

“It’s tough to see all the controversial and divisive debates happening in the US the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies, including, especially, Bud Light,” he added.

Marcondes' comments were confirmed to CNN by a spokesperson for the festival.

He went on to say that he was optimistic about the brand recovering from the public relations disaster.

“It’s coming back,” Marcondes said.

Bud Light has lost its title as America's best selling beer over the controversy in May to the Mexican lager Modelo Especial. CNN has argued that Modelo Especial dethroning Bud Light had more to do with the Cinco de Mayo holiday in May than with the controversy sinking Bud Light's sales.

The brand's sales have plummeted in the U.S., and that has taken a toll on the stock price for Anheuser-Busch, which has fallen by about 15% since Mulvaney posted on Instagram about the partnership with Bud Light.

Several executives involved in the Mulvaney debacle resigned and a Rasmussen poll found that a majority of Americans supported the boycott against Bud Light. Only 19% of respondents said that the transgender TikTok influencer marketing would make them more likely to purchase the beer.

Here's more about the Bud Light trans debacle:

Bud Light, Target Boycotts ARE WORKING, Will They LAST? www.youtube.com

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