Anheuser-Busch is sending its distributors a free case of beer after sales plummeted following the beer company’s social media partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.
The Wall Street Journal’s Jennifer Maloney reported:
Anheuser-Busch InBev… the country’s largest brewer, has pledged to boost its marketing spending on Bud Light, accelerate production of a new slate of ads, and give a case of Bud Light to every employee of an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, distributors said.
Bud Light’s in-store sales from April 16-22 fell 26% after the company’s marketing team sent the “Days of Girlhood” creator Bud Light cans featuring his face in celebration of the 26-year-old’s 365th day of “girlhood,” as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The cans sent to Mulvaney were never intended for retail sale, and were created by a third-party ad agency, according to a Facebook post by Del Papa Distributing, which the Journal noted is a Texas-based Anheuser-Busch distributor.
Not only have independently owned distributers said they suffered a loss in sales, but their employees have also been confronted by angry people in public, as the Journal reported.
Vice President of Marketing for Del Papa Distributing, Jeff Wheeler, told the publication that his staff dealt with “tons of phone calls from people being very hateful.”
“It sent shock waves through distributors,” Wheeler said.
In the Facebook post, Del Papa Distributing president Larry Del Papa said, “We too are upset with this situation and have been vocal about it with the top leadership at Anheuser Busch.”
The decision of vice president of marketing for Bud Light, Alissa Heinerscheid, to partner with Mulvaney and move away from the brand’s “fratty, sort of out of touch humor” cost the company $5 million in value. She has since taken a leave of absence, Breitbart News reported.
The “Days of Girlhood” content creator has appeared just about everywhere and was even invited to speak with President Joe Biden about “trans issues” last October.
While Anheuser-Busch may be distancing itself from Mulvaney, Nike has doubled down on its support for the TikTok star, who is now promoting the brand’s sports bras.
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