Anheuser-Busch plans to triple Bud Light marketing this summer and give delivery drivers $500

Anheuser-Busch will triple its marketing budget this summer and provide $500 cash bonuses to its drivers, retailers and salespeople as it struggles to get back on its feet in the wake of national boycotts against the use of a transgender woman in a promotion.

The company has seen its revenue drop 26 percent since partnering with Dylan Mulvaney in early April, a loss that added up to more than $6 billion in revenue.

CEO Michel Doukeris rejected the ad in an earnings call Thursday, insisting the ad was “not a campaign” and that an outside agency had approved it without Bud Light’s approval.

He also said the boycott mostly affected their employees who had nothing to do with the Mulvaney ad and that the company would give them $500 to help them through it.

Doukeris noted that the company would still contribute to LGBTQ+ causes.

Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris first addressed the massive backlash over working with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, 26, in an earnings call with investors on Thursday

Transgender woman Dylan Mulvaney, who was the center of the Bud Light boycott

Doukeris said Anheuser-Busch workers on the ground floor had faced backlash from angry customers, with some even fearing for their lives at the protest.

“The situation really affects frontline workers more than anyone else,” he said, according to the Wall Street Journal. ‘Think of the truck drivers, the deliverers, the sellers, the merchandisers. These are people who form the structure of our company. They are family and neighbours.’

“Our number one priority throughout this whole situation was the safety of our people,” Doukeris said during the phone call.

As a result of the backlash, the company now plans to pay delivery drivers a $500 bonus.

The company also plans to increase its marketing spend in the coming months to try to bring customers back to the brand.

Doukeris also insisted that the disastrous placement was not part of an advertising campaign by the company.

“We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” he said.

“We will continue to learn, meet the moment in time, all be stronger and we will work tirelessly to do what we do best: bring people together over a beer and create a future of more cheer.”

Mulvany posted the content on the occasion of the NCAA March Madness tournament, before joking that she didn’t know what sport she was promoting

The Bud Light beer can bears the face of transgender woman Dylan Mulvaney

Doukeris’ comments came as a letter was sent to retailers, bars and restaurants by Gray Eagle, which distributes Anheuser-Busch products in St. Louis.

“Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement,” the letter said.

“In reality, the Bud Light post was made by a social media influencer who sparked all the conversation, provided by an outside agency without the awareness or approval of Anheuser-Busch management.”

“Since then, the lack of oversight and control over marketing decisions has been addressed and a new VP of Bud Light marketing has been announced.”

Bud Light’s VP of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, took a leave of absence, while VP for Mainstream Brand, Daniel Blake, stepped down a few days later.

Their sudden departure seems premature in light of recent comments, which also claim there was no “management awareness” of the now-infamous campaign.

The details of how the fiasco broke out remain secret. The latest letter claims that Mulvaney’s can was the brainchild of an outside agency.

It’s the first time the brewing giant has addressed the backlash in detail, after being hit by a major drop in Bud Light sales as a result of the paid partnership.