Bud Light sales continue to plunge because of the boycott inspired by the brand’s advertising partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the New York Post reported.
The beer brand’s sales dropped 25.7% for the week of May 20 after a 24.6% decline the week before, according to data reviewed by the New York Post. Sales volume, the total number of beers sold, dropped 29.5% compared to the same time period last year, Newsweek reported. It marks the sixth straight week Bud Light sales have gone down since Mulvaney posted advertisements for Bud Light on April 1. (RELATED: Latest Update On The Bud Light Boycott: It’s A Bloodbath)
If you’re doing what we’re doing today — drinking ice colds and grilling with your friends and family with an American flag nearby — do us a solid and share a pic of your local beer aisle … pic.twitter.com/9l0jVchfgl
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 29, 2023
At the same time, sales for rival beer brand Modelo jumped 9.2% for the week ending May 20, based on Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ data, the NY Post reported. In the four week period ending May 20, Bud Light sales dropped by 24.3% and Modelo sales grew by 8%, the data shows.
Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev owns Modelo except for its U.S. operation, which is run by U.S. beverage giant Constellation Brands.
“That’s a monumental decline,” Bump Williams told the NY Post. “Modelo has surpassed Bud Light for the first time since it was launched in 1982.”
Mulvaney, a biological male who identifies as female, was given customized beer cans by Bud Light to celebrate “365 days of girlhood.” The campaign resulted in backlash from conservatives who believe the brand betrayed its customer base by promoting transgender ideology. Mulvaney previously promoted transgender procedures for minors in an October 2022 interview with President Joe Biden.
On top of the Mulvaney campaign, resurfaced video footage of Bud Light marketing executive Alissa Heinerscheid went viral in April because she criticized the “fratty” and “out of touch” Bud Light brand. The Daily Caller later reported on old pictures of Heinerscheid engaging in the lifestyle she derided before the company placed her on leave for the Mulvaney debacle. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Social Media Pics From Bud Light Ad Exec Who Slammed ‘Fratty’ Culture Seem Pretty Fratty)
Another marketing executive was placed on leave alongside Heinerscheid, as Bud Light embarked on an aggressive marketing push to try to win back its customer base.
Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris distanced himself from the Mulvaney campaign at a May 4 earning call. “We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” he said. “We will continue to learn, meet the moment in time, all be stronger and we work tirelessly to do what we do best: Bring people together over a beer and creating a future of more cheers.”