Benoit Garbe, U.S. Chief Marketing Officer for Anheuser-Busch, has stepped down from his role months after the Bud Light brand imploded due to its controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“The company said U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Benoit Garbe will leave at the end of 2023 ‘in order to embark on a new chapter in his career,’ with U.S. Chief Commercial Officer Kyle Norrington taking charge of marketing activities,” noted NBC News. “The company said other sales leaders will report directly to Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth.”
In a statement, Whitworth said the company’s senior leadership will “accelerate our return to growth as we continue to focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter.”
Bud Light became an intense lightning rod for controversy earlier this year when it briefly partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, leading to a massive backlash. In the months since the partnership, Bud Light’s sales have cratered while Modelo has overtaken the brand as America’s number-one beer. Mulvaney recently addressed the backlash when receiving the award for breakout creator at the 2023 Streamy Awards in September.
Dylan Mulvaney arrives at the Streamy Awards on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
“My life has been changed for the better but also there’s been an extreme amount of transphobia and hate and I know that my community is feeling it and I know that even our allies are feeling it,” Mulvaney said. “I look around this room and I just see so many amazing allies that have platforms and I think allyship right now needs to look differently. You need to support trans people publicly and proudly.”
As Breitbart News reported, sales hit such a low for Anheuser-Busch that the company “offered distributors of Bud Light $150 million in ‘incentive payments.’”
An employee adjusts bottles of Bud Light brand beer at an Anheuser-Busch InBev NV facility during a campaign stop by Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, not pictured, in Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. Kaine will face Republican opponent Corey Stewart in the November midterm elections. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“A report from Beer Marketer Insights, obtained by the New York Post, revealed these ‘market share recovery incentives’ were doled out to distributors of the beer to assist in paying their bills after Bud Light sales plummeted,” it noted.
The company, however, has seen a bit of a resurgence in recent weeks, with UFC making Bud Light its official beer and musician Kid Rock calling it quits on his publicized boycott.
“There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for. I’m looking forward to all of the incredible things we will do in the years ahead,” said UFC CEO Dana White.
“As a conservative and importantly a patriot, I don’t want to be in the party of cancel cultures and boycotts that ultimately hurt working class people, that have no dogs, especially in this fight. I didn’t have a dog in this fight,” Kid Rock recently said.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.