Bud Light is one of the brands sponsoring next month’s Cincinnati Pride Parade — the latest in a series of mixed signals the beer giant has given as it grapples with controversy over its Dylan Mulvaney partnership.
A glance at the list of sponsors on the event’s website reveals that the Anheuser-Busch brand is lending its name to the annual event, which will be held on June 24.
The image on the page shows a rainbow-colored bottle of Bud Light next to a glass of beer under the heading “Together in Pride.”
Bud Light’s sponsorship of the event was first flagged by conservative critics on social media.
The Post has sought comment from Anheuser-Busch as well as from the organizers of the event.
Anheuser-Busch has seen sales of Bud Light plunge for six consecutive weeks.
In order to reignite interest in the brand, Bud Light is offering generous rebates for Memorial Day that in some cases amount to free beer.
Anheuser-Busch is looking to make amends with alienated consumers who were put off by the Mulvaney social media posts touting Bud Light.
It has been airing commercials that play heavily on red-blooded themes such as football and country music.
One ad showed young beer drinkers frolicking in the rain at a country music festival.
Last month, Bud Light’s sister brand, Budweiser, released a patriotic ad featuring the famous Clydesdale horses.
Mulvaney, the prominent transgender influencer, began posting video and images on her social media last month touting Bud Light — sparking anger from conservatives such as country music star Travis Tritt and rock-rapper Kid Rock, who famously used an assault rifle on cans of the beer.
As the controversy simmered, Anheuser-Busch’s top executive offered an apology that was panned by critics as flat.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a press release titled “Our Responsibility To America.”
“We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
The statement made no mention of the Mulvaney partnership.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
