Anheuser-Busch Marketing Team Is ‘Learning a Lot’ after Bud Light Dylan Mulvaney Controversy, CMO Says

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s global chief marketing officer said Monday that the controversy surrounding Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been a “wake-up call” and that the company plans to work on reconnecting with U.S. customers. 

“It’s tough to see the controversial and divisive debates that have been happening in the U.S. in the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies, including and especially Bud Light,” said chief marketing officer Marcel Marcondes at the Cannes Lions Festival, where the company was named Creative Marketer of the Year for the second year in a row. “It’s tough exactly because what we do is all about bringing people together.”

He said the marketing team at AB InBev, Bud Light’s parent company, has been “learning a lot,” including that “companies and brands must be driven by their values. We are a beer company. Beer is for everyone.” 

The marketing team also concluded that the company must work to understand its entire customer base and to avoid creating divisive marketing. 

“In times like this, when things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers first of all to be very humble,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing, being very humble, and really reminding ourselves of what we should do best every day, which is to really understand our consumers. Which is to really celebrate and appreciate every consumer that loves our brands — but in a way that can make them be together, not apart.” 

In an effort to appear both values-driven and not divisive, the brand can show that it stands for enjoyment and togetherness, rather than anything political, Marcondes suggested.

“That’s what Bud Light stands for — it exists to make beer easy to drink and easy to enjoy,” Marcondes said. “That’s what we all, as a team, will be doing moving forward as a group. That’s what leaders do. Bud Light is coming back. It’s going all around the country, reconnecting with consumers, moving forward. That’s what you can expect from Bud Light in the U.S.” 

The controversy began when Bud Light launched a minor creative collaboration with trans influencer Mulvaney, who posted an Instagram video surrounded by the iconic blue cans in a bathtub. The post caused a backlash among the brand’s blue-collar base. The fallout has become so widespread that Modelo dethroned Bud Light from its spot as America’s most popular beer and led HSBC to downgrade Anheuser-Busch stock.

Bud Light sales fell by 21.4 percent in April, while parent brand Budweiser lost 11.5 percent.

The brand’s demise was further worsened by backlash from members of the LGBT community who protested the beer over Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth’s clarifying statement about the Mulvaney collab. While Whitworth’s apology did little to appease the brand’s conservative critics, it was enough to upset LGBT activists who argued the brand conceded too much.

As the controversy rolls on, Anheuser-Busch has attempted to smooth things over by rolling out a patriotic ad and donating $200,000 for a second year to support “LGBTQ+ business owners of color.”