Social media users posted videos of unsold cases of Bud Light over the Fourth of July weekend as beer drinkers continue to shun the brand over its marketing partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
TikTok user Phillip Hawkins wandered into a local retailer and recorded a video showing 12 packs and 24 packs of Bud Light languishing on shelves and in the aisles despite parent company offering significant rebates.
“Bud Light is not selling. This is garbage beer,” he said. “Check it out: even with the coupon, nobody wants this.”
Anheuser-Busch offered holiday-rate rebates totaling $15 for its products — making them free in some parts of the country.
The smaller cases of Bud Light were being offered for as little as $2.99 while the larger ones were going for $4.99.
Hawkins noted in his video that other brands such as Coors Light, Modelo Especial, and craft beers were indeed “selling like crazy” — despite costing significantly more.
“People are choosing Coors and paying more than this dogs–t with a coupon,” Hawkins said in the clip, which was posted on Wednesday.
On Twitter, a video recorded by a user purportedly from Salem, Ore., showed a Walmart store refrigerator fully stocked with Bud Light.
The neighboring shelves appear empty while Anheuser-Busch brands Bud Light, Budweiser and Michelob Ultra remain unsold.
“Here’s what Salem, Oregon thinks about Bud Light products,” the caption on the tweet read.
The videos provide anecdotal evidence that the St. Louis-based brand has been unable to win back customers turned off by the social media campaign featuring Mulvaney.
Sales of Bud Light, the nation’s top-selling beer, plunged 27.9% in the week that ended on June 24 — a slight improvement from the 28.5% drop the previous week, according to data from NielsenIQ and Bump Williams Consulting.
The staggering drop in sales since the April 1 tie-up with the trans influencer led the company to try to lure back customers ahead of the holiday weekend with a tweet showing an image of ice-cold Bud Lights captioned: “It’s 4th of July weekend, enjoy some beer.”
Then Tuesday, its official Twitter account followed that up with an image of a Bud Light drinker having a frosty one on a steamy day sitting next to a fan.
“Never underestimate the power of a makeshift mister. Happy 4th everyone,” the tweet read.
However, the attempt at levity was met with a deluge of negative responses.
“My family always called it Independence Day…This year I guess it’s independence from politically active beer too,” one user commented.
Another Twitter user wrote: “Enjoy some brands that DON’T belong to Anheuser-Busch. Make sure the beer you drink from now on does NOT fall under their market share.”
Bud Light’s continued sales decline has threatened its two-decade status as the nation’s top-selling beer and has spilled over into hurting Anheuser-Busch’s other brands.
Meanwhile, the second-largest beer brand, Modelo Especial, whose international distribution is controlled by AB InBev but whose US operations are owned by Constellation Brands, continues to grab market share from Bud Light.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
