As Bud Light Goes Woke, Customers Go Away

For years, major American corporations have been moving to the far left, embracing radical causes and showing disdain for their customers. A perfect illustration occurred in 2020, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. The Claremont Institute discovered that major corporations gave $83.1 billion to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and “related initiatives.” As noted by Claremont Institute, this amount is “more than the GDP of 46 African countries.”

Of course, it did not matter to the “hundreds” of corporate donors that the co-founders of BLM espoused Maoist ideology, purchased luxurious mansions, and gave massive salaries to family members. Even more troubling is that the stated mission of BLM includes an attack on “the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”

It seems the corporate leaders of America no longer care about fiscal responsibility to shareholders and are more interested in embracing concepts such as “social justice” and pursuing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” standards.

Another example of corporate wokeness was the Georgia boycott after the Republican majority in the state legislature passed mild election reforms in 2021. The fallout was intense, as Major League Baseball moved the All-Star game from Atlanta, and Delta and Coca-Cola vigorously criticized the new law. 

Supposedly, the reforms were going to “suppress” voter turnout. Well, precisely the opposite happened in 2022, as voter turnout in the midterm election was record-breaking according to the Secretary of State’s office. 

Despite this disastrous track record, American corporations are still affiliating with left-wing movements. The latest episode was revealed on April 1^st when transgender activist and social influencer Dylan Mulvaney released a new video drinking cans of Bud Light to celebrate “March Madness” and “day 365 of womanhood.”

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In fact, Bud Light was so supportive that it produced a beer can with Mulvaney’s likeness to applaud the transition to “womanhood.” Amazingly, Bud Light released a second video featuring Mulvaney taking a bubble bath while drinking beer and dressed in a swimsuit.

Not surprisingly, the marketing director of the parent company, Anheuser-Busch, was met with a swift response from Bud Light customers, who promised to no longer buy the product. In one video, with almost 11 million views, country music star Kid Rock used a semi-automatic rifle to shoot cases of Bud Light stacked on a table. He said his message was intended to be “as clear and concise as possible.” 

Another country music star, Travis Tritt, announced that he “will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider.” He said, “I know many other artists who are doing the same.”

The backlash has been so pronounced that an Anheuser-Busch merchandiser filmed a video in a grocery store showing stacks of Bud Light on the shelves. He said he had never seen such “little sales” of the product. He claimed it was “heartbreaking” because the lack of sales is hurting his ability to “feed his family.” Instead of blaming the public, he blamed Anheuser-Busch for doing what “they did” and not knowing their “clientele.” 

As noted by conservative commentator C.J. Pearson, corporations like Anheuser-Busch are “so fixated on going Woke” that they are purposely agitating their customer base. He rightly asks, “I wonder how many blue-collar guys are going to be rushing to the gas station to drink Dylan Mulvaney beer? Not…one.”

As a transgender “influencer,” Mulvaney has partnered with a variety of corporate entities such as Kate Spade New York; however, the Bud Light connection raised the most questions. Yet, according to Anheuser-Busch, Mulvaney, and other influencers are highlighted because the company attempts to “authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points.” The company contended that the commemorative can was only produced “as a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”

This lame rationale will not silence the millions of Americans who are disgusted by Bud Light’s marketing tactics. For example, in Springfield, Missouri, a Budweiser distributor canceled showings of the company’s famed Clydesdales. Surely, there will be other Clydesdale cancellations and plummeting sales for the product. 

As a result, will Anheuser-Busch admit its mistakes and try to make amends to its customer base? Such a corrective strategy is not likely because the marketing team that created this advertising debacle has not been fired despite some initial online reports. 

The Vice President of Marketing is Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid, “the first female to lead the largest beer brand in the industry.” In her profile, she established her woke credentials by identifying her pronouns as she/her. In a feature piece in Forbes, Heinerscheid claimed that the company had been “pretty inconsistent in messaging over the years.” She declared that her goal was to “establish who we are and consistently message this in years to come.”

In one way, Bud Light has been entirely consistent. Last year, their marketing team created LGBTQ-themed Bud Light cans, highlighting rainbows and specific pronouns, to coincide with “Pride Month” in Canada.

To commemorate the event, Anheuser-Busch made a $100,000 donation to “various organizations supporting Canadian LGBTQ groups.” As noted on the website for Canadian Pride Month, “For over 20 years, Bud Light has been a proud pride partner, and this year, we’re celebrating the unique gender identities of many Canadians through our can design.”

Evidently, regardless of the controversy, Bud Light will not change its direction. Thus, it is incumbent on customers who are disgusted by this woke agenda to use their economic power. It is time for Americans to spend their money on businesses that do not embrace a leftist ideology and support both patriotism and traditional values. 

Since corporations have the right to embrace a particular agenda, similarly, Americans have a right to use their economic power in a way that aligns with their values. This latest corporate debacle might be the best thing to happen to corporate America. If Bud Light suffers enormous economic damage from this marketing decision, it might encourage other corporate leaders to finally start listening to their customers.