Following a steep plunge in sales, Bud Light, an Anheuser-Busch brand, attempted to revamp its image with its latest advertisement on air as of Sunday – a commercial brusque with backyard grunts and NFL icon Travis Kelce. Yet, an incensed surge of public reaction suggests the ad may have fizzled rather than flooded the company’s efforts to recuperate traditional consumer trust.
The commercial, donned “Backyard Grunts with Travis Kelce,” portrays a laid back scene with the Kansas City Chiefs Tight End granting a grunt of repose as he opens a cold Bud Light, establishing the nucleus of the ad’s narrative. The commercial lengthens to draw in other men, convivial and relaxed who follow suit, their grunts punctuating the resounding crack of a Bud Light opening. Despite the mundane presentation, the purpose behind this advertisement is far from mundane – it is Bud Light’s attempt to rectify their strained relationship with culturally conservative consumers.
This comes in the wake of the relentless boycott sparked when Bud Light elected to align itself with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, with a personalized beer can. The decision drew a line in the sand, on the other side of which stood conservatives, who responded with both a verbal and financial boycott of the brand, significantly damaging Bud Light’s footing within its industry.
Viewers were quick to dissect the ad, with a barrage of Youtube comments underscoring the commercial’s glaring inability to mend the fragmented relationship between Anheuser-Busch and certain consumers. Critics were scornful, with predictions of brand failure, disdain on the representation of Bud Light drinkers as “stupid grunting cavemen,” and mockery of the brand’s apparent disoriented marketing tactics echoed across the comment sections.
Bud Light’s attempts to regain lost demographics, instead of pacifying offended consumers, seemed to have incurred further alienation and deeper trenches in their consumer base. The dwindling sales are not silent of this strife, painting a picture that suggests that Bud Light may have misjudged their target demographic, a severe miscalculation that could lead to damaging consequences.
In a revelation that Bud Light may not have seen coming, their stronghold as the top-selling beer was toppled, with rival Modelo snatching the crown. This was further underlined by the New York Post, reporting a crippling 27.9% dip in Bud Light sales in the week ending on June 24th.
In conclusion, Bud Light’s latest commercial, featuring Travis Kelce’s backyard grunts, seems but an ineffectual salve on a wound that’s far from healing. As evidenced by the continual scorn from their disillusioned consumers, supplemented with a grim statistic of plummeting sales in their recent reports, it appears that Bud Light’s target audience is slipping through their hands. This could signify a brewing storm, potentially leading to a bitter taste in the mouths of Anheuser-Busch shareholders if swift and significant changes aren’t made. Their recent commercial, rather than fixing the cracks in their consumer base, seem to have only exacerbated them – a misstep that could very well forecast the crumbling of an iconic brand.
