Anheuser-Busch is reportedly planning a major marketing push for Bud Light as the beer giant scrambles to recover after the brand’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney prompted a boycott from conservative drinkers.
Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights, told the New York Post that Anheuser-Busch executives informed distributors this week in a closed-door meeting in Washington, DC, that the company will “spend heavily on the brand after spending fell off a cliff last year.”
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According to the Post, Steinman wrote in a letter to clients Wednesday that the company “did promise to spend lotsa dough on Bud Light [marketing] this spring and summer, starting with big push this week for the NFL draft.”
Bud Light remains embroiled in controversy after the brand sent Mulvaney a personalized pack of beer with her likeness as part of an ad for the company’s March Madness contest and to celebrate a year since Mulvaney began identifying as a woman.
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After the partnership went viral, Anheuser-Busch lost some $5 billion in market value amid calls for a nationwide boycott, and bars and distributors across the country reported significant drops in Bud Light sales.
The backlash led the brand to shake up its marketing team, and Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth published a lengthy statement hoping to tamp down the animosity aimed at Bud Light and its parent company.
Fox News’ Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.