Bud Light Planning Post-Boycott Ad Blitz—With Cash Giveaways, Country Concerts And Ads With NFL Stars

Topline

Anheuser-Busch is tripling its media advertising investment in Bud Light, including partnerships with country music and NFL stars, an executive told Variety, as the company tries to end weeks of tumult and surprise conservative boycotts following a promotion with a transgender influencer.

Bottles of Bud Light beer are seen at a grocery store in Glenview, Ill., April 2023. In an interview … [+] with Variety, an Anheuser-Busch executive outlined Bud Light’s new summer ad campaign as the beer is embroiled in controversy. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Key Facts

Todd Allen, vice president of Bud Light, said in an interview with Variety the company is hoping to move on from the controversy with a new summer ad campaign that will triple the media spending on Bud Light, which was until recently the top beer in the U.S.

That campaign will include sponsoring a country music concert series with stars like Tyler Braden and Seaforth as well as commercials featuring NFL stars like Travis Kelce, Dak Prescott and George Kittle.

Allen said these ads will air on primetime broadcast TV, cable and sports programming.

Additionally, Allen said that Anheuser-Busch plans to give away $10,000 each week, and give some lucky customers $100 to put toward their bar tabs.

Crucial Quote

“We want to show up in all relevant occasions in summer — backyard barbecues, stadiums and sports venues,” Allen said in his interview with Variety. “That’s what counts and that’s what we are focused on.”

Key Background

Bud Light sales revenue dropped 26.8% year-over-year the week of June 10, according to data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ, continuing weeks of plummeting sales caused partly by boycotts from conservatives angry the beer was featured in a social media promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The controversy began when Anheuser-Busch sent Mulvaney—who has become famous for documenting her transition as a transgender woman online—a package of promotional beers, one of which had her face on it. This led to anti-trans conservatives calling for a boycott, including celebrities like Kid Rock, who posted a video online of himself shooting cans of Bud Light, and right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro, who decried the collaboration with Mulvaney extensively on his show. Earlier this month, Bud Light lost its position as most-sold beer in the U.S., which it’s held for decades, making way for Modelo Especial.

Chief Critic

While boycotts from one side have come crashing down on Bud Light, the company’s response to those boycotts, which included putting two of the marketing executives involved in the promotion on leave, has angered the other side of this clash. The Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy group, has accused the company of caving and not standing up for the community in the face of the backlash. After sending a letter obtained by USA TODAY in May, the Human Rights Campaign removed Anheuser-Busch from its list of top companies for LGBTQ+ equality. Meanwhile, the owner of several LGBTQ bars in Chicago told Marketplace last week he sought to remove Anheuser-Busch products from his properties after the company appeared to back away from the controversy: “Having a brand that was so enveloped in the hate and not condemning the hate is not something that we would feel comfortable having in our spaces.”