Bud Light’s controversial marketing deal with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney has ignited speculation that top executives at corporate parent Anheuser-Busch may have been blindsided by the tie-up when it was revealed.
“No one at a senior level was aware this was happening,” an unnamed source told The Daily Wire, a conservative-leaning news site.
Marketing executives at Bud’s parent Anheuser-Busch InBev have allegedly “paused” additional campaigns so that they can implement a more “robust” vetting process for future projects, according to the report.
The accuracy of the report — which comes despite the fact Bud Light has publicly stood behind its partnership with Mulvaney — couldn’t immediately be confirmed.
The Post has sought comment from Anheuser-Busch.
“Some low-level marketing staffer who helps manage the hundreds of influencer engagements they do must have thought it was no big deal,” according to an unnamed source cited by the Daily Wire.
“Obviously it was, and it’s a shame because they have a well-earned reputation for just being America’s beer — not a political company.”
The source reportedly added: “It was a mistake.”
The Daily Wire also cited a tweet from conservative influencer Rogan O’Handley, who claimed to have spoken to sources who said that C-suite executives inside the company were “angered” over the marketing deal with Mulvaney.
Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing, told the “Make Yourself at Home” podcast last week that she wanted to transform Bud Light’s brand.
“I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there will be no future for Bud Light,’” Heinerscheid said.
She also condemned the company’s previous branding, saying: “We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.”
Heinerscheid’s comments and partnership with Mulvaney have garnered backlash, with the company remaining quiet, while many are protesting Anheuser-Busch’s products.
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points,” a spokesperson for the company told Fox News.
“From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
Mulvaney, a TikTok star with more than 10 million followers, posted a video promoting the brand’s March Madness contest offering customers a chance to win $15,000.
In the Instagram footage, the content creator is dressed like Audrey Hepburn’s character in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as she cracks open a Bud Light can and takes a sip.
“This month I celebrated my 365 days of womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever — a can with my face on it,” Mulvaney said in the video noting her year-end milestone of transitioning.
Another video featured the activist drinking a can in her bathtub as part of the campaign.
Conservatives slammed the ad campaign and panned the company’s decision to partner with a trans activist. They claimed the beer maker was pushing “gender propaganda.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
