Bud Light, the once popular beer brand that used to serve as a staple to many Americans, faced a tough situation recently with a controversial partnership that caused a significant drop in sales. The company has now been working tirelessly to save its reputation and improve sales numbers, but the road has not been easy. Now, the company is resorting to humiliating efforts to make amends with its customer and distributor base in order to hopefully win back their trust and loyalty.
Anheuser-Busch, the beer behemoth, is striving to mend its relationship with Bud Light distributors following an uproar over the brand’s alliance with a controversial social media influencer named Dylan Mulvaney.
Focusing on Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood,” Bud Light commemorated this by crafting custom-made cans emblazoned with the influencer’s countenance. However, the move sparked a firestorm that has negatively impacted Bud Light’s in-store sales. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated that sales had dropped by a whopping 26% for the week ending April 22. The company also witnessed a substantial $5 billion drop in market value in the preceding weeks.
To ease the backlash, the country’s largest brewer is trying to atone with wholesale distributors who have suffered from the controversy. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company plans to increase expenditure on marketing campaigns for Bud Light and provide each wholesale distributor’s employee with a free case of the beer brand. Anheuser-Busch is also providing the distributors with a letter to show their retailers, aimed at addressing misconceptions about the Mulvaney partnership.
Before the fiasco that Mulvaney ignited, Bud Light’s Vice President of Marketing said that the beer brand was striving to revamp its image to attract younger customers.
However, the sales of Bud Light appear to be plummeting, with the Post-Dispatch reporting that the beer has lost 21% of its sales the previous week, and 11% the week preceding that. Total sales have fallen by 8% for the year.
It’s unsurprising that Bud Light’s attempt to appease the politically correct crowd through this misguided partnership with Dylan Mulvaney has backfired. This move is yet another example of big corporations caving to the demands of social justice warriors and sacrificing their values to the altar of political correctness. Bud Light’s fall serves as a valuable lesson to other companies who prioritize the ideals of a small, vocal minority over their core consumer base. As the sales of Bud Light continue to plummet, it is clear that consumers are not interested in being force-fed a liberal agenda with their beer.
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