Lest you’re confused over my reference to former President Donald Trump in the headline let’s first get that out of the way. Business was clipping along for Bud Light, entering April 2023. By the end of the month, all hell had broken loose and trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney had become a household name.
As my colleague Brad Slager wrote last Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of perhaps the most ill-advised product awareness effort in the history product awareness efforts, was perpetrated on Bud Light loyalists across America.
READ MORE: Whither Bud Light on the One-Year Anniversary of the Dylan Mulvaney Debacle?
And it only got worse over the coming year.
The blowback [in April 2023] from this display was almost instantaneous. Released on a Saturday, the video prompted rather quick reactions on social media, and by that Monday news outlets were reporting on the furor. Customers were lashing out, singer Kid Rock posted a video with him shooting a case of the beer, and very quickly this tide of opposition became a wave, and then a tsunami of outrage at the beer brand.
Also last Wednesday, Lie-Able Sources took to X (formerly, Twitter) to “raise a glass today in honor of the 1-year anniversary of the greatest marketing move in brewing history.” Well played, don’t you think?
Raising a glass today in honor of the 1-year anniversary of the greatest marketing move in brewing history. pic.twitter.com/meKQHjY7OM
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) April 1, 2024
But as reported on Wednesday, A-B posted higher-than-anticipated revenue and profit in this year’s first quarter.
Shares of Belgium’s AB InBev rose 5% Wednesday morning after the company posted higher revenue and profit in the first quarter, as analysts said it had escaped the drag from a year-long boycott of its Bud Light brand relatively unscathed.
The world’s biggest brewer, whose brands include Corona and Stella Artois, notched a 2.6% revenue increase year-on-year to $14.55 billion in the first quarter, narrowly ahead of analyst estimates. That was despite a 0.6% drop in volumes that the brewer sold. Underlying profit attributable to shareholders was higher at $1.5 billion, also above an LSEG-compiled consensus.
A social media-led campaign against Bud Light in response to a sponsorship partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney started in April 2023, making this the last quarter likely to be negatively impacted by a year-on-year comparison.
So what the heck happened? Likely a combination of factors. Perhaps the the Mulvaney thing ran its course, particularly given the shocking things we seemingly observe, daily. Or maybe a percentage of Bud Light drinkers decided to return to the fold after taking a stand.
Or, maybe former President Donald Trump played a role in the turnaround.
While it was widely reported in February that Trump urged his followers on social media to give Bud Light a “second chance,” there’s a “rest of story” behind his urging. Trump’s post came after United Fighting Championship boss Dana White directly reached out to Trump and asked him for help:
Trump appeared to be well-informed about detailed aspects of corporation’s operations. He noted that the company spends $700 million a year “with our GREAT Farmers,” employs 65,000 Americans and has provided scholarships to families of fallen members of the military. Trump wrote, “Anheuser-Busch is a GREAT American brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance?”
UFC, which is owned by TKO Group Holdings, in October announced a partnership with Anheuser-Busch to make Bud Light the official beer partner of the mixed martial arts company, in a deal that was reported at the time to be worth $100 million.
In a press release announcing the deal, White said, “There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for.”
A spokesman for UFC declined to comment on White’s conversation with Trump. A spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition to asking beer drinkers to give Bud a second chance, Trump also took a shot a “woke” companies in the post:
The Bud Light ad was a mistake of epic proportions, and for that a very big price was paid, but Anheuser-Busch is not a Woke company, but I can give you plenty that are, am building a list, and might just release it for the World to see. Why not, the Radical Left does it viciously to well run, Conservative companies – and people! Very nasty, but it’s the way they play the game!
On the other hand, Anheuser-Busch spends $700 Million a year with our GREAT Farmers, employ 65 thousand Americans, of which 1,500 are Veterans, and is a Founding Corporate Partner of Folds of Honor, which provides Scholarships for families of fallen Servicemen & Women.
They’ve raised over $30,000,000 and given 44,000 Scholarships. Anheuser-Busch is a Great American Brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance? What do you think? Perhaps, instead, we should be going after those companies that are looking to DESTROY AMERICA!
On the off chance that you’re a former Bud Light drinker, or maybe you never were, should “America” give Bud Light a “Second Chance”? Should the Dylvan Mulvaney disaster be “forgiven?”
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