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Beer Business Daily publisher Harry Schuhmacher said the industry is shocked that Bud Light sales haven’t recovered from the disastrous promo celebrating transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood,” but declining sales are starting to look like ” business-as-usual”. “
Schuhmacher said things are actually getting “a little bit worse,” citing recent data from Nielsen that indicated Bud Light volumes were down 31% for the week leading into Father’s Day weekend. At the same time, Miller Lite and Coors Light were both up.
“The trends have been pretty much the same since about mid-May…now it’s almost as usual,” Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital.
“It’s a surprise to a lot of people, even their competitors, who are really struggling to keep up to deliver the beer,” he added. “It’s not like flipping a switch.”
BUD LIGHT PARENT ANHEUSER-BUSCH TO HELP DISTRIBUTORS DURING MULVANEY CONTROVERS
Beer Business Daily editor and publisher Harry Schuhmacher cited recent data from Nielsen that indicated Bud Light volumes were down 31% for the week leading into Father’s Day weekend. At the same time, Miller Lite and Coors Light were both up. (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket)
Bud Light sales have plummeted since the beer maker gifted Mulvaney special cans in April to celebrate a full year of “girlhood,” which the influencer quickly claimed was her “most prized possession” on Instagram with a post featuring ‘#budlight partner’. A second video then featured Mulvaney sitting in a bathtub drinking a Bud Light beer as part of the campaign — and the company has since been mocked and boycotted.
Schuhmacher noted that Anheuser-Busch has taken several steps to mitigate the backlash, such as heavily discounting beer and offering discounts that make Bud Light “virtually free to consumers” in some markets. The beer maker has also taken steps to help distributors, increased its marketing budget, launched a new summer ad campaign and sent CEO Brendan Whitworth to “CBS Mornings” to clarify the now-infamous debacle.
ANHEUSER-BUSCH CEO REFUSES TO SAY WHETHER HE WILL ALLOW REVIEW OF BUD LIGHT’S DISASTRAL DYLAN MULVANEY PROMO
Bud Light sales have plummeted since a promotional partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney sparked widespread backlash. (Instagram)
Whitworth raised his eyebrows on Wednesday when he refused to give a clear answer when asked if he would send Mulvaney the can again afterwards. Schuhmacher is one of the viewers who was not particularly impressed with the CEO of Anheuser-Busch.
“I think he avoided a lot of the tough questions. The main one was, ‘Would you do this Mulvaney promotion again?’ And he didn’t answer yes or no. He kind of danced around it,” Schuhmacher said.
“I see that’s the problem there. But I mean they’re down 30%. I think the answer is ‘no, you wouldn’t do it again,'” he continued. “Without…casting any shade at the trans community, I think it just clearly wasn’t a good idea from a business perspective.”
Schuhmacher believes that Whitworth essentially doubled down on earlier Anheuser-Busch talking points about beer not being divisive, and how it should bring people together, didn’t go down well during the early weeks of the controversy.
“He got really hounded for that story, but he repeated it. So I think they just get on with the message and hope to move forward,” Schuhmacher said.
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Schuhmacher has also noticed that Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch become “viciously divided” on social media when the company posts anything. Critics often respond with disparaging remarks that mock the company with a deluge of jokes and memes, often aimed directly at the pact with Mulvaney.
“Everything they post is just criticized by consumers. And I think their strategy right now is to just keep posting, just keep going,” he said. “And at some point people might get tired of posting memes and making fun of the brewery, and I think that’s their strategy for now.”
OutKick founder Clay Travis recently shared that he was at a bar over the weekend when a man sitting next to him ordered a Coors Light. The bartender informed the customer that Coors Lights was out of stock, so Travis joked, “Get him a Bud Light instead.” Travis said the bartender and customer both burst into laughter, hinting at the polarizing reputation Bud Light quickly developed after the promotion with Mulvaney.
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“I think the reputation they’ve gained will be hard to shake,” said Schuhmacher.
“Having said that, I think there’s a chance – maybe a slim chance, but a chance – that you could beat a dead horse to death. And, you know, maybe Bud Light will be cool to be back at this time next year because it’s so out there,” Schuhmacher said. “I saw a younger crowd think this is the cool beer to drink because their dads and grandpas don’t want to drink it. It’s kind of a Hail Mary, but you never know.”
Brian Flood is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to brian.flood@fox.com and on Twitter: @briansflood.
