[Note: this is part of our annual Guest Writer Series. Meet guest writer #6.]
Oh, how the mighty have fallen….
Donald Trump is as likely to end up in jail as he is back in the White House.
The New England Patriots are no longer a playoff team.
And Bud Light is no longer the top selling beer in America.
How did this happen? Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the past several months, back in April, someone at Anheuser-Busch made the decision to send commemorative cans of Bud Light to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to mark “365 days of girlhood.” Dulvaney proceeded to put posts on social media in a dress drinking Bud Light and in a bubble bath dancing around with it. And the boycott was on.
To understand the significance of the boycott, realize that Bud Light has been the top selling beer in America for more than 20 years.
This has to be the dumbest brand marketing decision in the history of brand marketing, right down there with New Coke, but even that was not even close. What is the first rule of marketing? Know your target market. What was Bud Light’s target market? Men who enjoy sports and socializing. Frat boys and bubbas.
I can promise you this: other than those catering to gay and bisexual men, no fraternity in America wants any association with an image of boys who think they are girls drinking beer in dresses and bubble baths.
When I was in college, two men were caught in a compromising situation in one of the fraternities. Rightly or wrongly, there was zero interest in anyone rushing that fraternity for years to come.
And while I have less experience to speak on the subject, I think it is safe to assume a similar reaction from bubbas as frat boys.
I look forward to reading the Harvard Business Review case using this example to teach future MBAs the principles of marketing. But it may be years until it is socially acceptable to write about it.
I do not have any issue with Anheuser-Busch or any other beer maker marketing a brand to the LGBTQ+ community. Enjoy a Montucky Cold Snack with the rainbow on its annual pride can, as I have. In a blind taste test, most people cannot tell the difference between brands of beer anyhow. It is all about image. And Bud Light just royally screwed up its image.
Which begs the question, what in the world were they thinking? Bud Light’s (former) VP of Marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, stressed the need to “evolve and elevate” the Bud Light brand away from the “fratty, kind of out of touch humor” brand of the younger generation.
You mean the target market that has made you the top selling beer in America for 20 years?
This should set off alarm bells demonstrating how pervasive political correctness has become in corporate America. Companies are now getting graded on their “ESG” scores (environment, social, and governance), and being viewed as socially in vogue was more important to Heinerscheid than protecting FIVE BILLION DOLLARS in annual sales of Bud Light. That she could be so blinded by political correctness that she put all of that at risk should make us all realize how prominent this has become in the minds of our corporate leaders, all else be damned.
Bud Light has put itself in an impossible position. The right thing to do would be to apologize to its customer base for being insensitive to their perspectives and for calling them “fratty” and “out of touch,” that it was in fact they who were “out of touch.” But such a move would almost certainly unleash a backlash from the LGBTQ+ community for not standing behind Mulvaney, implying that their partnership was a mistake, even though it clearly was. And so they do nothing, as if it did not happen, hoping it will go away.
It will not. This is not as simple as bringing back Coca-Cola Classic. At this point, no one wants them. If they are not going to renounce their action, they might as well just go full rainbow.
Let’s look at this from the perspective of the boycotters. It is no fun to be one who holds traditional values in America right now. Those pushing different agendas have successfully made it socially unacceptable to do so. So we smile quietly when our employers observe Pride Month, fearfully hoping no one calls us out for not celebrating with enough enthusiasm. When is Traditional Values Month? Where is the “God created them male and female” parade? They do not exist. Only one side gets to celebrate.
I am all for diversity, equity, and inclusion. All Americans should be. It is one of the founding principles of our country. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [and women] were created equal.” It does not help that one side of the spectrum has politicized the word “equity,” meaning vote for us, because the other side does not. We all should.
But those who do not flock to the other side, which appreciates their votes, even though their perspective should be flatly rejected.
As with so many things in today’s world, the right answer is in the middle, and there is no one in the middle.
But my affirmation of equity does not mean that I should have to embrace perversity. I have gay friends and family members whom I love dearly. I have no problem with the orientation, and I think gay couples should have the same legal rights as heterosexuals. I also believe that the behavior is a sin. We all sin, and I am no better than anyone else, so I try to treat everyone with respect. But believers are called not to accept sin in our lives, but to turn away from it.
In today’s world, we are told we must be tolerant of everyone except those who believe as I do. Those beliefs are forced beneath the surface to avoid the social conflict that would result. For years now, we have been forced to hold our tongue to get along. We dare not share what we really think for fear of being ostracized. Cancel culture is real. But every time we hold something back, or keep quiet when our employers, the stores we frequent, or our government spend resources celebrating only the other perspective, all of that emotion gets pent up inside.
Then along comes Bud Light. Their choice to associate with Dylan Mulvaney gives me a safe, quiet, anonymous way to vent all the emotion that has been building up inside for quite some time now. I can simply never buy a Bud Light ever again.
And I never will.
All perspectives should be valued. Including mine.
Respectfully…
CAZ