In the United States, almost everything is political, now including beer. The hugely popular Bud Light brand has been in the storm since partnering with a transgender influencer.
This inexpensive drink is sold everywhere, from sporting events to concerts. One of the most popular in the United States, it has a typically American image that conservatives love.
A personalized can
It all starts in early April, with a promotional video: an influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, appears facing the camera in the post on his Instagram account, a Bud Light in hand. She explains that she received from the giant Anheuser-Busch InBev brand a personalized can, with her face on it, to celebrate the first anniversary of her gender transition. “I’m celebrating my 365th day as a girl, and Bud Light sent me what might just be the greatest gift in the world,” she smiles.
The 26-year-old actress, influencer and activist has a certain notoriety on social networks (10 million subscribers on TikTok) without being an essential star, and the publication could have gone unnoticed. Except that Dylan Mulvaney, who speaks very openly about his transition and defends LGBT + rights, represents everything conservatives hate.
Boycott of country stars
For the right, white-hot on gender identity issues, Bud Light is making a mistake by becoming a “trans beer” and must be boycotted. The country stars then lead the attack. The artist Riley Green, for example, replaces the name of Bud Light with one of his competitors in one of his songs, during a concert in mid-April. The very famous Kid Rock posts a video where he promises a “clear and concise” answer to the controversy. Cap with the Trumpist logo on his head, he turns, holds a semi-automatic rifle… and riddles with bullets from Bud Light packs.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the darling of the Republicans tipped for the 2024 presidential election, also swore on Monday that he would no longer drink Bud Light, refusing to support “woke companies”.
The controversy quickly went beyond the political sphere. Bars have indicated that they are following the boycott, mainly in Republican states. John Rich, country singer and owner of a bar in the festive city of Nashville, explained on Fox News that he had “cases and cases” of Bud Light lying around, for lack of orders from customers. And, in Florida, the Grills Seafood restaurant assumes that it no longer serves this beer “because of their support for something that is totally opposed to our biblical values”, in a Facebook post.
The M & M’s brand has already paid the price
In recent days, Anheuser-Busch InBev has launched a counter-offensive by broadcasting an advertisement with a very strong patriotic flavor, with typical American landscapes and, of course, the inevitable United States flag. Boss Brendan Whitworth also issued an apology statement that didn’t seem to satisfy anyone. “We never intended to enter into a debate that divides people,” he explains, without directly citing the controversy.
This is not the first time that a brand has been criticized for a too “woke” partnership. M & M’s paid the price in January by wanting to make the mascots of its treats more inclusive. But Twitter uproar doesn’t always translate to lower sales, said Jura Liaukonyte, an economics professor at Cornell University’s Dyson School. “It is easy to speak, but it is more difficult to act. “It’s very complicated for a boycott movement to be effective in the long term,” she says, drawing on previous examples of campaigns she has studied.