Pennsylvania-based Yuengling Brewery appeared to take aim at Bud Light on Friday, with a tweet shortly after their rival’s CEO apologized for the “divisive” decision to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Brendan Wetmore, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light’s parent company, issued a statement Friday about the crisis that has engulfed the brewery and seen its market value drop $6 billion.
Soon after, Yuengling tweeted: “Yuengling, the oldest brewery in America. Independently owned and family operated since 1829 because we make good beer.
They attached the tweet with a picture of their can, which described the beer as “traditional ale.”
Mulvaney’s April 1 Instagram post included her drinking a beer with her face printed on the can and lying in the bathtub.
Yuengling’s tweet — which has been liked 54,000 times — was seen as a dig at her much larger rival, who is struggling to get out of the drama that began on April 1, when Mulvaney announced the partnership.
On Friday, after nearly two weeks of silence, Bud Light’s Twitter account posted again. The brand tweeted a frosty can of its classic drink and captioned it, “TGIF?”
The post immediately attracted negative comments, but garnered much more attention than usual, with 11.1 million views and 25,000 comments.
Most of their recent tweets have been viewed less than a million times.
Even a recent popular tweet from late last month, promoting the brand’s March Madness sweepstakes, only received 1.2 million views.
The brand took to social media on Friday to post its first post since the controversy erupted. The post has 11.1 million views
Even the brand’s recently famous post announcing the March Madness sweepstakes had a paltry 1.2 million views compared to its recent work.
Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney appears to be paying dividends in terms of the amount of exposure the brand has generated.
Brand reach is an essential tool used to measure the success of marketing campaigns.
And in numbers alone, Mulvaney’s partnership has likely shattered all expectations.
However, this scope is not usually supposed to come with a loss of $6 billion in market capitalization and disaffected customers.
The disastrous fallout from Mulvaney’s partnership prompted an Anheuser-Busch CEO to offer a half-hearted apology last week, but it’s still not clear exactly what’s next for the ailing brand.
Budweiser, its sister brand, launched a new national ad featuring its iconic Clydesdale horse on Friday..
The one-minute ad features shots of an animal running across the western landscape and past landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Advertising the beer — which Anheuser-Busch owns as Bud Light — appears to be a return to the brand’s traditional values, which have historically attracted blue-collar American workers.
However, netizens condemned the ad as a weak attempt to right a ship that was permanently sent in the wrong direction with Mulvaney’s partnership.
The famous Clydesdales are shown racing through iconic American settings
My favorite ad by a mile was Clydesdales after 9/11. It was absolute perfection. After you embrace the trans agenda, glorify a man seeking his 15 minutes of fame by mocking women. I will never buy, drink or serve your beer ever again.” wrote one user.
“Is the horse passing now?” Written by radio host Dan O’Donnell.
“No, you destroyed your base and your market because you had to wake up.” I will never drink any of your products again. Brandon Sarrio wrote.
“Lol, hard hub, right?” Written by Angela McArdlePresident of the Liberal Party.
‘Don’t look now at Anheuser Busch and Budweiser’ wrote commentator Philip Holloway, ‘but Clydesdale has already left the fold. The train has sailed and the ship has left the station.
Bud Light and Budweiser are two distinct brands under the same parent company.
With the new ad, it seems the latter — often called The King of Beers — is stepping in to save Bud Light’s reputation.
In her controversial ad, Mulvaney posted a clip of herself sipping from a disposable Bud Lite box with her face to promote her March Madness contest.
The backlash saw parent company Anheuser-Busch lose $6 billion in market value within six days.
Mulvaney is best known for his Childhood Days videos, in which the 26-year-old documented the first year of getting to know her as a girl.
But the TikTok star has drawn the ire of some feminists and conservatives with claims that she’s a “stage actress” being a “girl,” choosing parts of femininity she finds interesting — without having to deal with the misogyny or prejudice many women face.
Analysts said the decision to pair Bud Light with a transgender activist was an odd marketing idea.
“I simply don’t understand why they hired the guy who was doing the marketing,” said Ted Jenkin, CEO of Oxygen Financial, which he founded to provide financial services to business owners and high-net-worth individuals across America.
He told Fox News Digital: “I mean, if your target customer is Kid Rock, and then all of a sudden you decide to go to RuPaul, it makes absolutely no sense.”
Anheuser-Busch is headed by US CEO Brendan Whitworth, a former Navy lieutenant, CIA officer, and Harvard Business School graduate who joined AB in 2014.
Whitworth made that public statement on Friday, after two weeks of controversy
On the eve of Mulvaney’s announcement of the partnership, Alisa Heinrescheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, said she wanted to make the brand less “crass.”
“I’m a business woman, I had a really clear business to do when I took over Bud Light, and that was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in decline for a really long time, and if we don’t attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, There will be no future for the iPod Lite.
She also condemned the company’s previous branding, saying, “We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light was kind of humorous, kind of humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.”
On Friday, Chief Executive Whitworth said: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.
“We’re in the business of getting people together for a beer.”
Whitworth, a former Navy lieutenant, CIA officer and Harvard Business School graduate, did not directly address Mulvaney’s partnership or issue an apology.
Instead, he indicated his desire to steer clear of divisive topics, saying, “I am responsible for ensuring that every consumer feels proud of the beer we make.”
He continued, “My time serving this country has taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work, and respect for one another.” As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I focus on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.
I care deeply about this country, this company, our brands, and our partners. I spend much of my time traveling across America, listening to and learning from our customers, distributors and others.
“Going forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beer to consumers across our nation.”
As of Friday, Anheuser-Busch’s only comment on the matter was a single statement confirming that Bud Light cans featuring Mulvaney’s face were a personal gift to the influencer, not for sale to the public.
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across diverse demographics,” the statement said last week.
From time to time, we produce unique keepsake tins for fans and brand influencers, such as Dylan Mulvaney.
“This memorial can be a gift to celebrate a personal achievement and not for sale to the general public.”
