On Sunday, Bud Light unveiled its latest attempt to overhaul its image following its financially ruinous branding partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in the form of a new advertisement.
“It’s fine, this is fine,” the alcohol giant captioned the video released on Twitter showing a woman eating watermelon as a storm destroys an outdoor barbeque, sending food — including a can of Bud Light — flying out of view.
The company’s social-media presence went mostly dark since April as public backlash against its Mulvaney sponsorship led consumers to ditch the brand. Since then, Bud Light has periodically released short videos and memes on their Twitter account to soothe dissatisfied customers but, seemingly, to no avail.
It’s fine, this is fine pic.twitter.com/wrm8MwtSqn
— Bud Light (@budlight) July 9, 2023
In April, Bud Light sales dropped 21.4 percent, while parent brand Budweiser lost 11.5 percent. Meanwhile, its major rival, Coors Light, experienced a 10.9 percent sales boost for the month. Even gay bars in cities across the country reportedly contributed to Bud Light’s losses, as the bars removed Anheuser-Busch products from their shelves to protest the company’s tepid response to the blowback.
The worrisome trend continued throughout June as Bud Light’s share of American retail-store sales slipped to 7.3 percent while competitor, Modelo, became the country’s most popular beer, grabbing 8.4 percent of consumer dollars. The brand continued to shed customers into the heart of the summer and Independence Day, a crucial period for beer sales.
Footwear optional but recommended for the summer keg carry pic.twitter.com/QYLWhOOxFd
— Bud Light (@budlight) June 24, 2023
However, Bud Light purchases slumped 27.9 percent compared to a year ago in the week ending June 24, data from NielsenIQ and Bump Williams Consulting revealed. The decline slightly improved from the 28.5 percent historic decrease the beer company suffered the prior week.
“The Fourth of July is the biggest beer holiday in terms of retail sales and an opportunity to move a lot of volume,” Dave Williams, vice president of Bump Williams Consulting, an alcohol beverage research company, told the New York Post. “And there has been no notable signs where the course has changed for Bud Light.”
“Our year is screwed,” one Anheuser-Busch distributor who doesn’t carry Modelo told the Wall Street Journal following the news.