Anheuser-Busch is launching a summer marketing campaign in an effort to win back customers who continue to boycott Bud Light and the company’s other major beer brands.
The beer conglomerate’s U.S. CEO Brendan Whitworth will be hitting the road and listening to consumers in connection with Budweiser’s MLB sponsorship, Axios reported Friday. The new marketing campaign will portray the beer as “easy to drink and easy to enjoy” in advertisements set to hit the airwaves in late June.
My latest: The Bud Light boycott shows no signs of stopping two months after Dylan Mulvaney’s infamous ad campaign, according to new sales data @DailyCaller https://t.co/qJge9Qm7DF
— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) June 13, 2023
Bud Light sales continue to suffer because of the boycott, with sales plunging 24.4% in the week ending June 3 and 24.6% in the four weeks ending June 3 compared with the same time in 2022, according to Nielsen IQ sales data provided to the Daily Caller by Bump Williams Consulting. (RELATED: Bud Light Bloodbath Drops Anheuser-Busch Stock Into Bear Market Territory)
Rival brand Modelo surpassed Bud Light as the top-selling beer in America at the end of May, and sales of other rival brands continue to surge as consumers seek Bud Light alternatives. Coors Light and Miller Lite sales spiked 24.4% and 21%, respectively, in the four weeks ending June 3, the data shows.
Anheuser-Busch’s other major beer brands have noticed a decrease in sales because of the Bud Light boycott. Budweiser sales dropped 7.8% in the week ending June 3 and 9.2% in the four weeks ending June 3, industry data shows.
The Bud Light boycott began in April, when transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted social media advertisements promoting the beer with customized beer cans. (RELATED: Some Beer Distributors Believe Bud Light Boycott Could Be Permanent, Surveys Say)
Conservatives responded to Mulvaney’s videos by accusing Bud Light of snubbing its customer base by promoting transgender ideology. A biological male, Mulvaney advocated for transgender procedures in an October 2022 interview with President Joe Biden.
The boycott gained steam when viral video footage showed Bud Light marketing executive Alissa Heinerscheid trashing the brand for being “fratty” and “out of touch” with consumers. Heinerscheid and another marketing executive took leaves of absence in late April over the Mulvaney partnership fallout, but it’s unknown whether they have been fired from the company. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Social Media Pics From Bud Light Ad Exec Who Slammed ‘Fratty’ Culture Seem Pretty Fratty)
Whitworth addressed the Bud Light boycott in an April statement.
“As the CEO of a company founded in America’s heartland more than 165 years ago, I am responsible for ensuring every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew,” he said. “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”