What better way to take the heat out of a disastrous campaign that’s made global headlines for all the wrong reasons than launch a new ad and hope everyone’s forgiven and forgotten.
In light of the Dylan Mulvaney trans fiasco that has plagued its Bud Light brand for the past fortnight, Budweiser has cobbled together a new spot designed to tell its [disloyal] drinkers it’s as American as apple pie.
But, such is the brand’s luck of late, the new work has put plenty of noses out of joint, namely from detractors saying it ignored the problems that arose from the Mulvaney campaign.
In the ad, the famed Budweiser Clydesdale returns as it gallops past such iconic sites as the New York City skyline, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, small towns and farmland and a couple of flag-raising patriots.
Check out the new work below:
The spot comes as Anheuser-Busch, which owns the Budweiser brand continues, to deal with backlash over a partnership between the US’ biggest selling brew, Bud Light, and Mulvaney. The partnership has caused sales of Bud Light to plummet as much as 70 per cent, while Anheuser-Busch’s lost $A6 billion in market capitalisation in just six days.
However, the new work has been promptly slammed from everyone from animal lovers, 7/11 conspiracy theorists and Bud drinkers who say it’s all too little too late for the brand.
Animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) led the rebukes, calling out the brewing company for the “needless mutilation of horses’ tails” over the Clydesdale horse that appears in the ad.
Conservative news site Red State soon chimed in, its editor, Brandon Morse, tweeted the below:
Actor Matthew Marsden, who starred in such films as Black Hawk Down and Rambo, tweeted:
Trans activist Oli London said the new work did nothing to address the attacks and abuse of Dylan Mulvaney.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton slammed corporate owners for “trying to pretend their support of transgender extremist who targets children never happened”.
Comedian Tim Dillon managed to see the funny side.
Check out some more social backlash below:
