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Bud Light, a brand that has positioned itself as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, recently faced backlash from conservatives over a collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
After this, the brand’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, put its VP of Marketing and Group VP on leaves of absence and experienced a 21% drop in sales across US retail stores during a week in mid-April.
The company offered distributors free beer and said it would spend three times as much on Bud Light’s marketing this summer than previously planned.
However, the response has caused a brand identity crisis, as experts believe that the company has put its values in question.
The brand should have been prepared with some sort of emergency, crisis management response in anticipation of the Mulvaney post, said Anjali Bal, associate professor of marketing at Babson College. Other marketing teams might be afraid to support equity in collaborations, partnerships, and ads following the Bud Light saga. However, inclusive ads aren't going away despite Bud Light's recent dip in sales.
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