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Ad expert ranks Bud Light's handling of Dylan Mulvaney fiasco among the worst brand gaffes in HISTORY; brand’s post-brouhaha tweet ‘TGIF?’
[Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] Anheuser-Busch's handling of backlash to its Bud Light brand partnership with transgender
...mutton, dressed up as pork...
 influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been branded a historically-bad marketing gaffe by a leading expert.

In a Bloomberg Opinion column on Saturday, advertising and brands expert Ben Schott called the Bud Light imbroglio 'a marketing case study for the ages' in 'how not to handle brand collaborations in a dangerously polarized space.'
Indeed.
Schott ranked the incident alongside infamous brand 'gaffes' in history, such as the chairman of Barilla pasta's 2013 declaration that he 'would never do a commercial with a homosexual family'.

And in 2006, the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch notoriously said the company only wanted 'cool' and 'attractive' customers, saying, 'Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.'

'But Bud Light's action is worse than a gaffe, it's a betrayal,' wrote Schott, noting that the brand retreated into 'cowardly' silence, leaving Mulvaney high and dry, as the controversy went kaboom! online and in bars across the country.

'Bud Light actively and eagerly sought out a controversial influencer in a dangerously polarized space, with neither the wisdom to plan for a backlash nor the bravery to stand by its partner,' he wrote.

Schott was sympathetic to Mulvaney - but condemned Bud Light for choosing to use the star for a campaign, then abandon her when the going got tough.

Mulvaney's April 1 Instagram post saw the influencer showing off commemorative cans

Anheuser-Busch's handling of backlash to its brand partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is facing criticism, after the company seemed to abandon Mulvaney

Musician Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting at cases of Bud Light, country singers John Rich and Travis Tritt publicly denounced the brand, and Ted Nugent calling the partnership a 'middle finger to their core consumer demographic.'

There was also backlash to the backlash, with shock jock Howard Stern slamming the fury at Bud Light as overblown, and podcaster Joe Rogan calling the conservative outrage over Mulvaney 'goofy.'

As the polarization spilled into barrooms, with patrons trading insults and recriminations over each others' beer choices, a handful of bar owners said they would stop selling Bud Light, at least temporarily, simply to prevent fights.

On Friday afternoon, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth finally broke the company's silence in a public statement cryptically titled 'Our Responsibility To America.'

Bud Light tweets for first time since Dylan Mulvaney controversy: 'TGIF'

[NYPOST] Bud Light’s official Twitter account on Friday sent out its first tweet since brewing company Anheuser Busch sparked an uproar over its sponsorship deal with transgender
...mutton, dressed up as pork...
 influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

"TGIF?" the popular beer’s account tweeted along with a photo of the iconic blue can.

The typically active account has been quiet since April 1 — the day before Mulvaney took to Instagram to announce the deal with the beer giant, promoting a contest that gave Bud Light drinkers a chance to win $15,000.

The advertising sponsorship drew widespread outrage among conservatives, who slammed the company’s decision to partner with a trans self-proclaimed genius as pushing "gender propaganda," and called for boycotts of the company.

Since the partnership, the $132 billion beer company has seen its market value plummet by some $5 billion since the campaign was launched April 1.

Busch distributors around the country have been feeling the fallout, with many bars in red states from Tennessee to Wyoming refusing to stock Bud Light.

Amid the outrage, several Budweiser factories received bomb threats, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed. It is unclear how many facilities were targeted.

The company had previously defended its decision to hire Mulvaney, an actress and influencer with more than 10 million followers on TikTok, where she documented her gender transition.

However on Friday, the company offered a lukewarm apology to its customers.

"We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people," Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a blurb titled "Our Responsibility To America."

"We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer," he added, without mentioning Mulvaney in the statement.
Or not, as the case may be. This is why those in business should avoid talking publicly about their personal politics.

Posted by: Fred 2023-04-16
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=664370