Anheuser-Busch put a transvestite on a can of Bud Light and released this terrible ad to try and clean up the mess.
The ad has to be seen to be believed:
— Budweiser (@budweiserusa) April 14, 2023
Please choose one… Did the ad…
- Make you want to buy a Chevy?
- Encourage you to return to 2004 to liberate Iraq?
- Remind you of Bruce Springsteen’s drunk driving charge?
The ad reeks of 1) desperation and 2) an ad campaign where someone wrote the following phrases on a whiteboard—heart of America, hope in tomorrow, American spirit—and then smugly walked off in the certainty we RedStateTards would forget all about the transvestite who prances around like an astonished reindeer.
These scenes look like they were generated by AI prompts.
“Two firefighter bros, one black and one white, doing a shake-hands-hug.”
“Two trucker-looking bros sharing a Bud on a porch in the country.”
“A Keith Olbermann look-alike wearing a shoulder patch that says “LAND OF THE FREE” raising an American flag (but don’t show the full flag).”
The ad’s Twitter “ratio” is hilarious…
“Hey @Budweiser. What’s next on your agenda after mocking women? Are you going to ridicule disabled veterans? Demand to defund police? Maybe dabble in a little bit of antisemitism?” asked one.
“My favorite advertisement by a mile was the Clydesdales after 9/11. It was absolute perfection. After your embrace of the trans agenda, glorifying a man looking for his 15 mins of fame by mocking women. I will never buy, drink or serve your beer again. #BoycottAnheuserBusch,” said another.
People also got creative:
My favorite advertisement by a mile was the Clydesdales after 9/11.
But how times have changed pic.twitter.com/m5Vpxxk5ha— Pete Reilly, Stochastic Deplorable 🇺🇸 (@petenet321) April 15, 2023
This one pretty much hit the nail on the head: “I’m not sure a lineup of B-roll footage and some guy throwing middle-America buzzwords at us will win us back, and frankly, bringing 9/11 into this is kind of insulting.”
As I said yesterday, I don’t care if a grown man wears a dress, and I don’t care if a private company uses said transvestite to advertise its product. I would never use a transvestite to advertise a product, but I also don’t do boycotts. Boycotts are fascist.
Nevertheless, this new Budweiser ad is beyond patronizing, exactly the type of thing you’d expect from a Manhattan or Los Angeles ad agency staffed with people who have never met a Trump voter and who view the working class as Nazis who must be tolerated. When I first saw it, 30 seconds passed before I realized it was not a spoof.
This ad, along with Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth’s word salad statement, is only adding to the brand damage. The brewery’s crisis management team should be fired. It’s just one fumble after another. On top of angering its customer base, the brewery now looks foolish. “Bud Light” will be a punchline for many years to come.
However….
Anheuser-Busch stock is still up six points for the month.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.