By now, it’s well-documented that many Bud Light drinkers didn’t take to kindly the brand’s partnership transgender ambassador Dylan Mulvaney.
But to make matters worse, Bud Light doubled down (and insulted their core customer base in process), when the brand’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.”
And shocker… that statement didn’t go over well either.
Since then, we’ve seen a number of country artists speak out against Bud Light.
We saw Kid Rock shoot up a bunch of cases of Bud Light, Travis Tritt announced a boycott, and John Rich said that he would no longer be selling the beer at his Nashville bar, Redneck Riviera, due to the poor sales.
Some have even made statements at their shows, as Brantley Gilbert was even seen slamming a Bud Light to the ground that a fan had thrown at him during his concert.
But speaking of John Rich, he’s now speaking out about Anheuser-Busch’s decision to post a Budweiser Clydesdale ad titled, “The Shared Spirit,” which appears to be directed towards blue collar America.
Just see for yourself:
“This is a story bigger than beer. This is the story of the American spirit.”
Rich told FOX News Digital:
“Well, it looks like they’ve come out with this pro-America, patriotic old school Budweiser looking ad with the Clydesdales and the red, white and blue and all that. Well, a little late for that.
You know, the American public, we’re never left alone anymore. We literally can’t go anywhere without something divisive or political being thrown into our face.
And I think when they went after the beer can, you know, something that people have loved for decades. You know, Bud Light, Coors Light, that’s kind of like Ford and Chevy.
You’ve got people that have had brand loyalty to Bud Light forever, you know, since they’ve been drinking beer. That’s what they drink.
And they feel betrayed by it and they just can’t believe that now when they’re sitting down to relax and have a beer, at the end of the day, now it’s in their face again. And I think they’ve just had enough of it.”
He was also sure to say that he wasn’t offended by Bud Light’s move in the least bit, but he can understand the frustration from the American public:
“I wasn’t upset that they did it, but I thought, ‘Wow, I don’t think that’s going to turn out like they thought.’
And of course, now you look up and I think Bud, like this morning is approaching $7 billion in revenue lost already. I mean, it’s pretty incredible.”
The ad was released shortly after Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth released a statement saying:
“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.”
