Sales Drop and Attribution Budweiser bosses reveal a $1.4 billion sales drop in America, linking it to a 15.3 percent decline after an ad campaign featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Backlash and Response Mulvaney’s Instagram post, portraying her as Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and celebrating her transition, caused backlash, leading to a Bud Light boycott. Budweiser countered with new ad campaigns featuring NFL legends and rapper Post Malone.
Slow Recovery Efforts Despite efforts to regain market share, Bud Light’s sales kept dropping. Parent company AB InBev faced a tough 2023 with a $1.4 billion revenue drop in North America. CEO Michel Doukeris admitted sluggish progress and a share decline.
Recovery Attempts and Results Bud Light’s efforts, like featuring NFL legends Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith in a new commercial, had minimal impact, with only a 1.2 percentage point market share recovery from May to February.
Fallout for Mulvaney While Bud Light suffered, Mulvaney thrived, earning $2 million in 2023 from other brands. She criticized Bud Light’s lack of support during the backlash.
Sales Decline and Resignation The fallout led to a $390 million US sales drop in August and a 26.7 percent Bud Light volume decrease. In November, chief marketing officer Benoit Garbe resigned amid falling sales.
