Bud Light is betting an advertising blitz and splashy partnerships with country music and NFL stars will crush the conservative boycott over a promotion with a transgender influencer that tanked sales and its spot as the No. 1-selling U.S. beer.
The new television commercial −“Easy to Summer” − is set to the soundtrack of “Good Times,” the 1979 hit by Chic. Social and digital content will feature famous NFL players like Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Dak Prescott. And Tyler Braden and Seaforth will headline a national summer music tour − the Bud Light Backyard tour.
Anheuser-Busch is counting on the campaign to sway beer drinkers after a rough couple of months for Bud Light.
Why is there a Bud Light boycott?
Data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ shows that Bud Light sales have been dropping since April when Dylan Mulvaney, who has documented her transition as a trans woman online, showed off a promotional beer with her likeness on it sent to her by Anheuser-Busch.
What followed was a torrent of anti-trans criticism from the political right, with conservatives calling for boycotts of Bud Light. Kid Rock released a video in which he shot up cases of Bud Light with an assault weapon. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro lashed Bud Light on his show.
Earlier this month, Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as the best-selling beer in America.
Bud Light’s response didn’t sit well with the LGBTQ+ community. Advocacy group The Human Rights Campaign suspended Anheuser-Busch’s score in its Corporate Equality Index.
Bud Light executive says the beer is seeing ‘positive momentum’
To win back Bud Light drinkers, Anheuser-Busch plans cash giveaways, tickets to local shows on the Backyard Tour and rebates over July 4 weekend.
Todd Allen, vice president of Bud Light, told Variety that sales have begun to stabilize and the company is seeing “positive momentum” in states that account for nearly half of the beer’s sales volume.
“What I have learned in the past six or seven weeks is that we have deeply passionate fans that love and care about this brand and for the last 40 years, we have been the beer of easy enjoyment,” Allen said. “That’s what people expect from us and that’s what we are going to give them.”
