This is the new Bud Light ad after the Dylan Mulvaney controversy
Bud Light is out with a new ad after sales plummet trying to win back its core consumers to show it’s about “good times, goodwill, and easy enjoyment.”
Anheuser-Busch InBev has been in damage control mode since April, when Bud Light partnered with trans TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney to attract new consumers. That social media ad campaign kicked up a hornet’s nest sparking backlash from right-wing conservative personalities.
Viral videos flooded social media like that of musician Kid Rock taking aim, literally, at Bud Light calling for a boycott of the brand. Sales of what had been the number one selling brand in the United States began to nosedive so much so that it has now been unseated by Modelo Especial.
There has been contagion to the parent company’s other brands as well. Sales of Budweiser, Busch Light and Michelob Ultra have all seen significant drops.
Anheuser-Busch tries to lure back customers
As part of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s efforts to bring its core-base of customers back into the fold the brewer tried offering rebates of $15 on cases of beer, in some cases essentially giving it away for free, for the Memorial Day weekend. It is attempted to do so again for the Fourth of July holiday.
The beleaguered brand’s parent company plans to triple its investment in Bud Light this year and is launching new ad campaigns. Speaking to CBS, CEO Brendan Whitworth said that the marketing will be focused on getting back to what the brand means to people which they’ve been told is “good times, goodwill, and easy enjoyment.”
This is the new Bud Light ad after the Dylan Mulvaney controversy
The latest attempts to stem the bleeding are a couple of ad campaigns released in the past week hoping to boost sales going into the summer months. One designed for the Anheuser-Busch brand as a whole, titled ‘That’s Who We Are,’ features employees, growers, wholesalers, and partners of the St Louis-based brewer.
The other campaign focused solely on Bud Light launched its first commercial on Sunday before the Fourth of July holiday title ‘Backyard Grunts with Travis Kelce.’ The 15-second spot features the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs as well as several other middle-aged men sitting down with a Bud Light in hand and, you guessed it, a grunt as they relax at backyard at get togethers, on a hammock and next to a car. One would guess after a “hard day’s work” preparing the grill or washing and waxing the car.
Will Bud Light’s new ad bring back consumers?
The commentary on the street as collected from FOX News outside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee seems to paint a bleak picture. As well, the comments posted on the Bud Light specific ad were less than enthusiastic about wanting to go out and buy that brand of beer.
Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch’s competitors are taking advantage of the situation hoping to take over shelf space at retailers as they get ready to reset in the fall. Constellation Brands’ CEO, Bill Newlands, is predicting that distributors and major retailers will put less Bud Light on their shelves come autumn. “Many retailers look at velocities as they are doing their shelf resetting,” he told investors. “And that always works to our advantage. I think the retailing environment has gotten very, very sophisticated about seeing where the growth profiles are and the velocities against those.”