It’s no secret that Bud Light has received a ton of backlash after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
As far as country artists go, we’ve seen Kid Rock shoot up a bunch of cases of the beer, Travis Tritt announced that he was no longer requesting Bud Light on his tour rider, and John Rich from Big & Rich said he was no longer selling the beer at his Nashville bar, Redneck Riviera.
On top of that, rock & roll artist Ted Nugent called out Anheuser-Busch for not knowing their demographic, and Riley Green recently sent Nissan Stadium into a frenzy when he changed the lyrics from “Bud Light” to “Coors Light” in his song “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.”
And it probably didn’t help that Bud Light’s VP of Marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, called the brand “fratty” and “out of touch.”
“We had this hangover… I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.”
Needless to say, there’s been a ton of noise.
But now, it appears that Anheuser-Busch is working to try and rehab their relationship with some of the customers that they may have pissed off in the past couple weeks.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth released this statement last week, according to FOX Business:
“As the CEO of a company founded in America’s heartland more than 165 years ago, I am responsible for ensuring every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew. We’re honored to be part of the fabric of this country.
Anheuser-Busch employs more than 18,000 people and our independent distributors employ an additional 47,000 valued colleagues.
We have thousands of partners, millions of fans and a proud history supporting our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere.
We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
And on top of that, Budweiser dropped a rather patriotic Budweiser ad to counter the backlash.
Titled “The Shared Spirit,” it’s more of the classic Bud ad that we’re used to seeing, featuring the legendary Budweiser Clydesdale running through blue-collar America. We see the American Flag being raised, first responders, firefighters, and two farmers sharing the classic beer… a true “fabric of America” type of ad spot.
The narrator closes out the minute long clip by saying:
“This is a story bigger than beer. This is the story of the American spirit.”
Unfortunately, it seems to be “too little, too late” for the American beer giant.
An obvious damage control move, the new ad (which seems like it was thrown together pretty quickly) got absolutely hammered on Twitter.
Sorry… this ship has already sailed. You should’ve supported the hard-working middle class that once were proud to kick back after a long day of work.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) April 16, 2023
Don’t look now @AnheuserBusch @budweiserusa but the Clydesdale has already left the barn. The train has sailed, the ship has left the station
— Philip Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) April 16, 2023
You’re an absolute joke.
Embrace the suck Budweiser. You’re done.— 🇺🇸America First Stacy🇺🇸 (@Discoveringme40) April 15, 2023
I’m not sure a lineup of B-roll footage and some guy throwing middle-America buzzwords at us will win us back, and frankly, bringing 9/11 into this is kind of insulting.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) April 16, 2023
No amount Clydesdales and American Flags will fix the damage done with your customers. Nobody will ever forget you used a grown man who dresses like a little girl and mocks women to advertise beer.
— Vic DeGrammont (@votedegrammont) April 16, 2023
OOF…
Doesn’t sound like this is going away anytime soon.
