As sales of Bud Light continue to plummet following a brief but disastrous association with trans-identifying personality Dylan Mulvaney, Anheuser-Busch has offered to buy back unsold cases from merchants.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the offer was made as brand boycotts persisted in the wake of the deal’s controversy. After Mulvaney gushed in a TikTok video about a present from Bud Light—a can bearing the trans-influencer’s face—a boycott ensued, causing sales of the beverage to drop precipitously almost overnight.
According to an analysis by Bump Williams of Nielsen data, Bud Light sales had dropped by 28% by mid-May, compared to the same period in 2022, after numerous prominent figures endorsed a complete boycott of the brand.
Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting multiple cans of Bud Light, captioning it, “Grandpa’s feeling a little frisky today.” Please allow me to explain something to you all in as few words as possible. Damn you, Bud Light. Hell with Anheuser-Busch, too. Have a fantastic day!
Country music legend and bar owner in Nashville, John Rich, said that people just stopped buying Bud Light there.
It’s up to the consumers, Rich remarked. Clients are royalty. Up until just recently, that beer was by far our best seller. A bottle of Bud Light. It was the most popular beer by far. We have several cases of it stored in the back.”
Although political boycotts have typically lost momentum or been unsuccessful, Bud Light currently appears to be in a difficult position.
The firm hired Alissa Heinerscheid in an effort to broaden the brand’s appeal, but when consumers turned on the Mulvaney relationship, she was swiftly put on leave. The brand’s popularity had been declining due to the growing popularity of hard seltzers and craft brews. After she was let go, the company went back to its roots and hired a seasoned beer marketer to handle advertising, including a cooperation with the nonprofit Folds of Honor.