It’s no secret that Bud Light has received a ton of pushback since they decided to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, especially in the country music community.
We’ve saw Kid Rock shoot up a bunch of Bud Light cases with a rifle, Travis Tritt removed the beer from his hospitality tour rider, and John Rich from Big & Rich said he would no longer be selling Bud Light at his Nashville bar Redneck Riviera.
And a few artists have also alluded to their displeasure of Bud Light’s decision at shows, as Riley Green changed the words from “Bud Light” to “Coors Light” while performing his hit “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” (something he does pretty regularly) and Brantley Gilbert even was seen slamming a Bud Light to the ground after a fan threw one on stage.
With that being said, the beer is also taking a hit at country music festivals as well, and one country music festival in particular?
Stagecoach, in Indio, California.
According to Variety, although the Bud Light Backyard stage served the beer (as Bud Light was a sponsor of the festival and this particular stage), a number of the other bars didn’t even touch it.
Variety says:
“While the Bud Light Backyard stage served the cold beer, most other bars are not offering it whatsoever following the company having given a celebratory, commemorative beer can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.”
Needless to say, things are not going well for Bud Light as boycotts continue to run strong, more folks are opting to drink Miller Coors or Modelo products, and the backlash doesn’t appear to be subsiding anytime soon.
Of course, this report also comes on the heels of reports that Bud Light sales have dropped by a whopping 26% in the past week compared to this time last year.
Bud Light Sales Drop
After video circulated of the executive responsible for the ad campaign, VP of Marketing Alissa Heinerscheid, talking about changing the image of Bud Light from “a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor,” it was announced that she would be taking a leave of absence, because apparently insulting your customers isn’t the best way to grow your brand.
Amidst the criticism and boycotts, Bud Light has been working hard to try to rehab its image with its core customer base, releasing a series of patriotic ads (including one featuring Zac Brown Band’s hit “Chicken Fried”) that critics have called “pandering” and describe as too little, too late.
And when you get a look at the numbers, you see why they’re working so hard to turn things around.
According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, a study by Bump Williams Consulting, which specializes in the alcoholic beverage industry, found that sales of Bud Light have dropped a staggering 26% in the past week, a bigger decrease than the 21% they had declined the week prior.
So not only has Bud Light failed to stop the bleeding: It’s actually getting worse.
And while Bud Light remains the best selling beer brand in the country, outpacing its next closest competitor Modelo Especial by over $1 billion, the CEO of Bump Williams says that if Bud Light isn’t able to turn the tides, the brand is in danger of losing its spot at the top:
“Bud Light is in serious trouble this year. And I think it runs the risk of losing that No. 1 position at the end of calendar year 2023 to Modelo Especial.”
Overall, sales of the beer are down by 8% so far for the year, which Bump Williams attributes to not only the marketing campaign but also the comments made by the now-former VP of Marketing:
“Her big miss was I don’t think she understood who the core Bud Light shopper was. When she came out with her comments, they were deemed as being derogatory, insulting and juvenile.
And the Bud Light drinkers said ‘Enough of that.'”
It remains to be seen whether Bud Light will be able to reverse the trend and stop the bleeding that it’s been facing for the last month or so. But when you see those numbers, it’s pretty clear that whatever they’re doing right now definitely doesn’t seem to be working.
“Ultra Right Beer,” Created In Response Controversy, To Hit $1 Million In Sales
“Ultra Right Beer” entered the chat when the Bud Light boycott began, and though some laughed it off as just a joke, it seems to be making quite the run.
The beer claims to be “100% Woke Free,” and though it is being sold as 6-packs for $19.99 a case (better be pretty good beer), people are buying a lot of it.
The founder of Ultra Right Beer is Seth Weathers, who goes by the name “Conservative Dad,” and he spoke to Fox Business to discuss his idea behind the beer:
“This is more than a beer company, it’s a movement of people who are speaking up and saying no.
We’re done. This is our line in the sand.”
The beer has only existed for 13 days, but Fox Business reports that the brand has over “10,000 customers” and has sold over “20,000 cases,” allowing for Ultra Right to creep towards 1 million dollars in sales.
“Conservative Dad” made the announcement of his beer with an advertisement calling out the Bud Light brewery. Weathers can be seen in the advertisement taking a Louisville slugger to a tall boy can of the now controversial beer.
This video seems like it’s a parody, but I can assure you, it is not:
The video from the “Freedom Speaks Up” CEO has been viewed over 46 million times and even prompted The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to create a parody of their advertisement.
And while $20 for a case of 6-beers seems a little steep to me, regardless of what kind of point the beer is trying to make, consumers seem to be willing to pay the price to ensure that their beer does not come with any “woke values.”
Weathers recently announced that “Ultra Right Beer” has a brewing partner in order to fulfill the influx of orders for their new alcoholic beverage. “Conservative Dad” states in the video:
“I am proud to announce we’ve teamed up with Big Kettle Brewing here in Lawrenceville, Georgia to produce our 100% woke-free American beer.
We’re going to have a lot of fun, we’re going to drink a little beer, and we’re going to take back our country.”
