An Anheuser-Busch wholesale beer distributor based in Alabama has taken to the radio airwaves to hit out at Bud Light’s parent company over its marketing partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.
Steve Tatum, the general manager of Montgomery-based Bama Budweiser, paid for a radio commercial in hopes of reassuring alienated consumers that he wasn’t on board with Bud Light’s social media campaign partnership with Mulvaney, the controversial transgender influencer.
Bud Light, which has been subjected to harsh blowback, is trying to win back hearts and minds.
The brand is offering generous rebates for Memorial Day that in some cases amount to free beer.
“We too at Bama Budweiser are upset about it and have made our feelings known to the top leadership at Anheuser-Busch,” Tatum said.
His comments were reported by AL.com.
“The voice of the consumer has been heard, and Anheuser-Busch has taken action.”
Tatum added: “We at Bama Budweiser, an independent wholesaler, employ around 100 people who live here, work here, and our children go to school here.”
“We do not, and as I said before, did not support this issue involving Dylan Mulvaney.”
Tatum referred to Bud Light’s decision to place two marketing executives on leave.
He also referred to the custom can of Bud Light which includes Mulvaney’s likeness.
An image of the commemorative can, which was made to mark the anniversary of her transition from a man to a woman, was posted to Mulvaney’s social media account, which numbers millions of followers.
“There was one single can made,” Tatum said in the ad.
“It was not for sale and wasn’t properly approved. As a result, the Bud Light brand has new leadership.”
Tatum continued: “Dylan Mulvaney is not under contract with Bud Light.”
“The videos you may have seen are Mulvaney’s own social media posts that went viral and many web-based news outlets have distorted the story,” he said in the ad.
“You deserve to know the truth, and life is too short to let a couple of individuals decide what you can eat or drink or spend your hard-earned money on.”
“And remember, making friends is our business, not enemies.”
Steep drops in sales of Bud Light continued to worsen for the sixth consecutive week, plunging by nearly 25% since the ill-fated promotion with Mulvaney, the latest industry data shows.
Sales of the US’s No. 1 beer were down 24.6% for the week ended May 13 compared to a year ago — slightly worse than the 23.6% dip they suffered a week earlier, according to Bump Williams Consulting and Nielson IQ research.
Even more alarming, industry experts say, is the negative impact on Anheuser-Busch InBev’s other brands, including Budweiser, Michelob Ultra — with the latter being the nation’s No. 3 beer last year with more than $3.3 billion in sales last year.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
