After nearly two weeks and a massive backlash to a promotional campaign featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the Bud Light Twitter account finally reposted on Friday.
The beer giant’s latest tweet came on April 1, when they posted, “Beers on us? Must be playtime. For a chance to win, encourage your team with #EasyToEnjoySweepstakes in the answers.’
While they haven’t tweeted for a few days in the past, the @BudLight tends to be fairly active, as are their other regular social channels. The feed had tweeted 10 times in the past seven days and is usually active during major sporting events.
On April 2, the next day, Mulvaney posted a video through its social media channels announcing the deal and promoting a contest that gave drinkers the chance to win $15,000. The Instagram video currently has more than 11,000 comments, many of which are unhappy with the promotion.
On Friday, the account tweeted out a traditional can of Bud Light beer with the abbreviation “TGIF,” which stands for “Thank God It’s Friday.”
After nearly two weeks and a massive backlash over a promotional campaign featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the Bud Light Twitter account finally reposted on Friday
On April 2, Mulvaney posted a video to her social media channels announcing the deal and promoting a contest that gave drinkers the chance to win $15,000. The Instagram video currently has more than 11,000 comments, many of which are unhappy with the promotion
Many weren’t particularly thrilled at the prompt, with conservatives tweeting insults about the brand.
Conservative personality Harmeet K. Dhillon simply replied, “GTH” or “Go to hell.”
Former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller said, “Stop promoting transgender ideology.”
Tyler Fischer guessed the acronym stood for “Thank God I’m Fired” and was written by the company’s social media manager.
“I’m so glad I was sober for #BudLightWentWoke,” former drinker Lenore Taylor added.
Greg O’Brien suggested that “White Claw would be more manly at this point,” while adding that his father is probably “clawing his grave” to avoid being buried with Budweiser in it.
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.
The famed beer has also not posted to their main Instagram feeds since March 31, and hasn’t posted to Facebook since March 30.
Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has also not posted since April 1.
The news comes hours after the US CEO of Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch broke his silence to address polarization over the company’s marketing. co-operation with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“It was never our intention to be part of a discussion that divides people. Our job is to bring people together over a beer,” CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a public statement on Friday.
Beyond an initial succinct statement, Anheuser-Busch has remained silent since the controversy erupted on April 1, when conservative Bud Light fans questioned why Mulvaney had been tapped to promote the best-selling beer on a TikTok channel she created to promote her gender transition. document.
Meanwhile, the controversy took on a bizarre life of its own, with musician Kid Rock posting a video of him shooting Bud Light cases, and country singers John Rich and Travis Tritt publicly denouncing the brand.
And there has been backlash, with shock jock Howard Stern labeling the anger at Bud Light overblown, and podcaster Joe Rogan calling the conservative outrage at Mulvaney “goofy.”
In his statement Friday, CEO Whitworth, a former Navy lieutenant, CIA officer and Harvard Business School graduate, did not speak directly about the partnership with Mulvaney and did not apologize.
Instead, he indicated 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.”
“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.
Anheuser-Busch is led by US CEO Brendan Whitworth, former Navy lieutenant, CIA officer and Harvard Business School graduate who joined AB in 2014
Whitworth issued this public statement on Friday, two weeks after the controversy
Bud Light caused a backlash after it teamed up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. She was spotted in Los Angeles on Friday
“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,” the statement said.
Until Friday, Anheuser-Busch’s only comment on the matter was a single statement confirming that the Bud Light cans featuring Mulvaney’s face were a personal gift to the influencer and not for sale to the public.
“Anheuser-Busch is partnering with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences from a variety of demographics,” said last week’s statement.
“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,” the company added.
Mulvaney’s April 1 Instagram post said she drank a beer with her face pressed to the can and lay in a bathtub knocking Bud Light back
Meanwhile, as the social media controversy exploded, the major social media accounts of Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch fell silent, despite major sporting events of the kind the brand typically covers.
Earlier on Friday, political communications consultant and pollster Frank Luntz questioned that strategy in comments to DailyMail.com.
“In the age of social media, silence in the business is admitting guilt. You are not forgiven for a mistake without explanation or at least proper context,” Luntz said.
“If you party or associate with extreme people, be prepared for a backlash from mainstream people,” he added.
On the other hand, crisis communications expert Gerard Braud had argued that “going quiet on social media is probably the right move” for Anheuser-Busch in this case, saying that “social media algorithms never favor the company that going through the crisis. ‘
“Any Budweiser post at this point will only lead to a deluge of positive and negative comments, which will only remind the public that there is a controversy going on,” Braud told DailyMail.com on Thursday.
Braud said he advises all of his clients to hold focus groups before launching new initiatives that could anger their core clients.