Anheuser-Busch DENIES that it fired two top marketing executives

Anheuser-Busch executives have seemingly denied that the company fired two top marketing executives found responsible for Bud Light’s disastrous Dylan Mulvaney campaign.

The Daily caller reported Tuesday that the beer giant has officially fired Group Vice President of Marketing Daniel Blake and Bud Light Marketing Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid, citing text messages with an unknown regional marketing lead at the company.

Blake and Heinerscheid were said to be taking a “leave of leave” amid backlash over their decision to feature the trans TikToker in a March Madness commercial.

And when DailyMail.com approached earlier this month, a friend of Heinerscheid said “she can’t talk about it, she can’t.”

But in a statement to DailyMail.com, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said they were both still on “leave.”

“Given the circumstances, Alissa has decided to take a leave of absence, which we support,” the spokesperson said, adding that Daniel is also “taking a leave of absence.”

“In the interest of the safety and privacy of our employees, we are not providing any additional information.”

The statement echoes that of Anheuser-Busch executives in April, when it announced that the two marketing executives had “decided” to step down temporarily.

‘Given the circumstances, Alissa has decided to take leave, which we support. Daniel has also decided to take leave,” the company said at the time.

But questions remained about their sudden departure in the aftermath, especially when Anheuser-Busch executives later claimed that the decision to partner with Mulvaney was made by an “outside agency without management awareness or approval.”

Reports circulated Tuesday that Heinerscheid and Blake had been officially fired from their positions at Anheuser-Busch, as an unidentified source at the company told Daily Caller executives only claimed they were on “leave” to conduct a avoid litigation.

“In my opinion, it opens up the possibility for them to sue us if we publicly announce the word ‘fire’. That’s why we said leave,” the source said, adding, “The wholesalers would have had an absolute HAY DAY with leadership if they [Heinerscheid].’

“Wholesalers were told in personal conversations that they are both gone for good,” the source claimed. “They’ve already moved all their direct reports to new people and the head of marketing.

He added that he thought Blake was “actually amazing.”

“I think he just got set up [the] crossfire,” the source said. “But he hired her too…so that’s a mistake.”

Blake is a nine-year veteran of Anheuser-Busch and has overseen marketing for both Bud Light and Budweiser.

He served as Group VP of Marketing for Budweiser and Value Brands before being promoted to Group Vice President of Anheuser-Busch’s Mainstream Brands in May 2022. He had also served with the company as the company’s vice president of value brands.

In his role, Blake was responsible for hiring Heinerscheid to overhaul Bud Light’s marketing in June 2022 with a vision to refresh its image.

Just a few months before the company released its controversial ad, Blake heralded a “new era for Bud Light” when he shared an article about the beer’s “sophisticated” decision to feature a lead female character in its Super Bowl ad. to take.

A post on LinkedIn shortly before also talked about how “everyone is connected by the same American Spirit values ​​and, of course, Budweiser.”

Heinerscheid, meanwhile, touted her strategy for moving beyond Bud Light’s “fratty” reputation and embracing inclusivity to attract a young generation of drinkers in an interview just days before the Dylan Mulvaney ad was released.

‘I am a business woman. I clearly had work to do when I acquired Bud Light, and it was this brand that is in decline,” she said.

“It has been in decline for a long time. And if we don’t attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there is no future for Bud Light.

“So I had this super clear mandate. It’s like we need to develop this incredibly iconic brand and take it to the next level.

What does evolve and elevate mean? It means inclusiveness. It means shifting the tone. It means having a campaign that is truly inclusive and that feels lighter, brighter and different. And appeals to women and men.

And representation. Is it kind of the heart of evolution? You need to see people who mirror you in the work.

And we had a hangover. I mean, Bud Light had been kind of an antics, a kind of callous humor, and it was really important that we had a different approach,” she said.

In an earlier interview with Forbes, she gave the same mandate.

“As the first woman to lead the world’s largest beer brand, it’s a great opportunity to really evolve Bud Light, this brand I love, and take it to the next level.

“This campaign is meant to feel different, to be lighter and brighter, with confidence and appeal, and it’s very important to depict real people and real places,” she said.

“What I need to do to help this brand evolve… this is my passion point.”

Heinerscheid’s job was taken over by Todd Allen, who recently served as global vice president of Budweiser.

But Bud Light continues to suffer from the effects of Dylan Mulvaney’s marketing campaign, with sales down 26.8 percent in the week ending June 10, its worst week-over-week performance since the ad in early April.

According to Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ, it’s a deeper drop from the week ending June 3, which saw a 24.4 percent drop. The new low beats the previous low — a drop of nearly 26 percent — for the week ending May 25.

It comes after Bud Light lost its crown as America’s best-selling beer to Modelo, a Mexican lager brewed by Grupo Modelo – which is also owned by Bud manufacturer Anheuser-Busch.

Anheuser-Busch’s other U.S. brands — including Budweiser, Michelob Ultra and Natural Light — have also experienced significant sales declines since the controversy. Bud is down 10 percent, while Natty Light and Michelob are down 2.3 and 2.4 percent, respectively.