Out-of-touch Bud Light exec is seen in new pics downing beers at wild Harvard party
The Bud Light executive trying to shake the alcohol brand off its “fratty” image can be seen in old photos drinking beer at a Harvard “boozefest.”
Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Budweiser, can be seen in a series of leaked photos from 2005 at a Harvard social club event blowing up condoms and spitting out bottles of lager.
The photos come directly from Heinerscheid’s Facebook, under the “Isis Senior Reverse Initiation Scavenger Hunt” album, before the businessman later deleted them.
The scavenger hunt appeared to be part of the university’s Isis club, which was founded as a safe haven for women. But the event, held to discuss “the exploration of the scrotum professors,” was expanded to include men. The club was called an “oasis of drunken locks” by the school newspaper.
Heinerscheid, who is 39, would have been about 21 years old when the photos were taken.
Several people were quick to call out the executive’s hypocrisy after she said on a March 30 podcast that she wanted the Bud Light brand to move away from a frills image and detract from “young drinkers.”
Heinerscheid, who was president of the club in 2006, has been in trouble since Bud Light teamed up with transgender Dylan Mulvaney for their latest campaign.
Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Budweiser’s, was seen in a series of leaked photos from 2005 at a Harvard social club event blowing up condoms and gulping bottled beer. Pictured: Alissa Heinerscheid (right)
The photos came directly from Heinerscheid’s Facebook, under the “Isis Senior Reverse Initiation Scavenger Hunt” album, before she deleted them
The scavenger hunt appeared to be part of the university’s ISIS club, which was set up to be a safe haven for women
The school paper called the club a “haven of drunken idiots,” according to The Daily Caller, which owned the photos
Several people were quick to call out the executive’s hypocrisy after she said on a March 23 podcast that she wanted the Bud Light brand to move away from a frills image and detract from “young drinkers”
Pictured: A young Alissa Heinerscheid, VP of Marketing for Bud Light
In last month’s Make Yourself at Home podcast, the Harvard graduate stated that it was essential for the brand to attract more female and younger drinkers, otherwise “there is no future for Bud Light.”
She said she believed Bud Light had to incorporate ‘inclusiveness’, it means setting a different tone, it means having a campaign that is really inclusive, feels lighter and brighter and different, and appeals to both women and men.”
Heinerscheid claimed she had a “super clear” mandate to “evolve and take this incredibly iconic brand to the next level.” She criticized Bud Light’s former marketing strategy as dated and male-oriented.
“We were hungover. I mean, Bud Light had been kind of an antics, a little bit of callous humor, and it was really important that we took a different approach,” the Wharton graduate argued.
Heinerscheid gave her expertise just three days before a furious backlash erupted when influencer Mulvaney posted the Bud Light promotion on her Instagram page.
Mulvaney’s April 2 Instagram post said she drank a beer with her face pressed onto the can and lay in a bathtub knocking Bud over the back.
The decision to partner with Mulvaney angered many loyal customers, including country singer Travis Tritt, who decided to pull all produce from his tour bus and Kid Rock, who shot at several boxes of Bud Light.
A spokesperson for the company that makes Bud Light said, “Anheuser-Busch partners with hundreds of influencers from all of our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across different demographics.
“From time to time we produce unique commemorative tins for fans and for brand influencers, such as Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative tin was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
Dylan Mulvaney’s April 2 Instagram post said she was drinking a beer with her face pressed on the can and lying in a bathtub knocking Bud back
While the Bud Light brand is on the decline, Heinerscheid says, it remains the flagship product of parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The Belgian multinational, the world’s largest brewer, saw its profit rise above expectations in the last quarter of 2023 to more than 7 percent.
It reported last month that its core earnings — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — were $4.95 billion.
Heinerscheid previously worked as a marketing guru at AB InBev before taking over as vice president of Bud Light in July last year.
Her LinkedIn profile proudly states that she is the “first woman to lead the largest beer brand in the industry.”
The beer director was educated at the $60,000-a-year Groton School in Massachusetts before attending Harvard, where she studied English literature, and then business school at Wharton, where she earned a master’s degree in marketing.
Bud Light is reeling from its controversial marketing strategy and hasn’t posted anything on its official Twitter account in over a week, prompting speculation that there has been an internal stir as a result of the failed advertising campaign.
Considering the partnership with Mulvaney was revealed during March Madness, the annual NCAA basketball tournament, it’s notable that the brewer didn’t tweet at all during the University of Connecticut’s victory over San Diego State in the championship game on April 3.