Anheuser-Busch’s handling of the backlash on its Bud Light brand partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has come under scrutiny after the company finally spoke out after weeks of silence.
In a Bloomberg Opinion column on Saturday, advertising and branding expert Ben Schott called the Bud Light hodgepodge “a marketing case study for the ages” in “How Not to Handle Brand Collaborations in a Dangerously Polarized Space.”
Schott juxtaposed the incident with the brand’s notorious “blunders” in history, such as the 2013 statement by the chairman of Barilla Pasta that he would “never do a commercial with a gay family.”
And in 2006, the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch infamously said the company only wanted “cool” and “attractive” customers, saying, “Are we exclusive?” Absolute.’
“But Bud Light’s action is worse than a blunder, it’s a betrayal,” Schott wrote, noting that the brand retreated in “cowardly” silence, leaving Mulvaney high and dry as controversy rages online and in bars across the country. whole country exploded.
“Bud Light actively and eagerly sought out a controversial influencer in a dangerously polarized space, lacking the wisdom to plan a backlash, nor the courage to stand by his partner,” he wrote.
Anheuser-Busch’s handling of the backlash over its brand partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is facing criticism after the company appeared to be leaving Mulvaney
Notorious “blunders” of the brand throughout history include the 2013 statement by the chairman of Barilla Pasta that he would “never do a commercial with a gay family”
In 2006, the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch said the company only wanted “cool” and “attractive” customers, saying, “Are we exclusive?” Absolute.’
Aside from an initial succinct statement, Anheuser-Busch remained silent for two weeks after the controversy erupted on April 1, with the brand’s social media accounts going dormant as conservatives wept over the Mulvaney partnership.
Musician Kid Rock posted a video shooting at Bud Light business, country singers John Rich and Travis Tritt publicly denounced the brand, and Ted Nugent called the collaboration a “middle finger to their key consumer demographic.”
There was backlash to the backlash, too, with shock jock Howard Stern labeling the anger at Bud Light overblown, and podcaster Joe Rogan calling the conservative outcry over Mulvaney “goofy.”
As polarization swept through the pubs, with patrons exchanging insults and blaming each other’s beer choices, a handful of bar owners said they would stop selling Bud Light, at least temporarily, simply to avoid fights.
On Friday afternoon, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth finally broke the company’s silence in a public statement cryptically titled “Our Responsibility To America.”
“It was never our intention to be part of a discussion that divides people. Our job is to bring people together over a beer,” Whitworth said in the statement, which did not directly address the partnership with Mulvaney.
The initial reaction to Whitworth’s statement was lukewarm, to say the least.
“That statement is one of the worst statements I’ve ever seen,” Gerard Braud, an expert on crisis communications, told DailyMail.com on Saturday. “It doesn’t say anything at all… and it took 15 days to formulate.”
On Friday afternoon, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth finally broke the company’s silence in a public statement cryptically titled “Our Responsibility To America.”
Whitworth issued this public statement on Friday, two weeks after the controversy
Schott, the Bloomberg columnist, also denounced the statement, which touted “the values on which America was founded” as “bizarrely complicated and incongruously patriotic.”
“But this isn’t so much a story about trans rights, Dylan Mulvaney or internet outrage as it is a story about corporate courage,” he wrote.
Even the harshest critics of Mulvaney must admit that she stands upright in a hurricane of hatred and takes the swear words with remarkable control. In cowardly contrast, Anheuser-Busch immediately retreated into the shadows,” he wrote.
On the eve of Mulvaney’s announcement of the partnership, Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s vice president, said she wanted to make the brand less “fratty.”
“I had a very clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was, ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in decline for a long time, and if we don’t attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there will be are not a future for Bud Light,” she told a podcast.
She also condemned the company’s previous branding, saying, “We were hungover, I mean, Bud Light had been kind of frats, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had a different approach. “
Schott wrote that Bud Light “tried to ‘develop and elevate’ his ‘fragile’ image on a trans influencer’s tail — but stopped when the going got tough.”
Bud Light caused a backlash after it teamed up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. She was spotted in Los Angeles on Friday
In his statement on Friday, Whitworth, a former Navy lieutenant, CIA officer and Harvard Business School graduate, did not directly discuss the partnership with Mulvaney or offer an apology.
Instead, he signaled that he wanted to move away from divisive topics, saying, “It’s my responsibility to make sure every consumer is proud of the beer we brew.”
He continued, “My time serving this country taught me the importance of responsibility and the values on which America is founded: freedom, hard work, and respect for each other. As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.
“I care deeply about this country, this company, our brands and our partners. I spend much of my time traveling across America listening and learning from our customers, distributors and others.
“Going forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our country.”