One of the remarkable things about the ongoing Bud Light marketing disaster has been the brand’s ability to not only alienate its core drinkers but infuriate the LGBTQI+ community along the way.
Not only are hardcore Bud drinkers boycotting the brew in the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney trans fiasco but America’s LGBTQI+ community is also furious – with gay bars announcing boycotts of all Anheuser-Busch brews – for not coming out in support of the maligned Mulvaney.
Having valiantly tried to get its core customer base back onboard via discounted cases and campaigns that have included support for veterans and, as reported on B&T yesterday, a Harley-Davidson collab, Anheuser-Busch is now turning its attention to repairing its relationship with America’s gay community.
Overnight, Anheuser-Busch announced it was donating $US200,000 ($A306,000) to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, an organisation that promotes gay businesses.
The money is for the organisation’s Communities of Colour Initiative (CoCi), which is “designed to support the growth and success of minority LGBTQ+-owned businesses through certification, scholarships and business development,” according to the announcement.
Yet in more proof the brand simply can’t take a trick, the donation is already being called out as a cynical marketing ploy ahead of Pride month that starts tomorrow.
In further bad news, The New York Post has reported that Bud Light has just endured its worst week since the Mulvaney marketing stunt launched on April 1, with sales now down 25.7 per cent.
It’s the sixth consecutive week that Bud has suffered double-digit sales falls.
However, it’s all good news for Bud Light’s main competitor Modelo Especial whose sales are up 9.2 per cent for the week ending May 20.
At this rate, it’s expected Modelo will surpass Bud Light as America’s biggest selling beer some time this year.
Bump Williams, who runs beer trade site Bump Williams Consulting, told the Post: “While Bud Light loses week after week, Modelo Especial gains week after week and now Modelo outsells Bud Light on a national basis across all trade channels combined.
“If this continues Modelo will surpass Bud Light for the year. That’s a monumental decline,” Williams said.
Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights, added: “This is a big achievement for Modelo, but it’s short term. Constellation [Modelo’s parent company] is closing the gap and has said it wants to be the number one beer.”
The backlash also has caused sales of other Anheuser-Busch beers to go into free-fall. For the week ending May 20, Budweiser plunged 11.2 per cent, Michelob Ultra was down 6.5 per cent, Busch Light fell 5.2 per cent and Natural Light was down 4.9 per cent according to the data.
