Bud Light’s marketing Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid is doubling down on her decision to promote the “declining” American beer brand to “young people.”
During an interview on the podcast “Make Yourself At Home,” Heinerscheid declared that she was inspired to update the “fratty” and “out of touch” humor of the beer company with inclusivity. She was behind the controversial move to partner with trans influencer Mulvaney to promote the beer.
“I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light,'” Heinerscheid said.
The beer maker ignited a firestorm across social media after celebrating Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood,” by sending Mulvaney custom-made cans featuring the influencer’s face.
Heinerscheid said she had a “super clear” mandate “to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand” and that she wanted to change the brand to incorporate “inclusivity, it means shifting the tone, it means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive, and feels lighter and brighter and different, and appeals to women and to men.”
Heinerscheid suggested that “representation is sort of at the heart of evolution, you have got to see people who reflect you in the work.”
Dylan Mulvaney has become the new brand ambassador for Bud Light. 🍺
The beer brand even made a special edition Dylan Mulvaney Can 🥤celebrating his 365 days of girlhood.
(This is not April Fools, it’s actually real)
🍺🍻🍺😒🍻🍺🍻 #dylanmulvaney #trans #transgender pic.twitter.com/xuu87WxrvZ
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 1, 2023
Bud Light draws backlash after promoting trans activist Dylan Mulvaney, but marketing pros say it’s a smart move.
Let's see what the marketing pros think in a month from now. https://t.co/w7rI6VNqle
— General™️ (@TheGeneral_0) April 10, 2023
She then smeared the work of Bud Light’s past branding and took a few not-so-subtle shots at its customer base.
“We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach,” she said.
The beer company released a statement and defended the partnership with Mulvaney.
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told Fox News.
WATCH:
Bud Light has remained silent on social media following the announcement from Mulvaney.
“Bud Light has not posted on Instagram to its 377,000 followers since March 30 and the brand’s 311,000 Twitter followers have not seen any posts since April 1. Additionally, the beer brand has not posted to its over 7.5 million Facebook followers since March 30,” Fox Business reported.
“Anheuser-Busch did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to why the social media channels have gone dark but the slowdown in posts comes at the same time the company has found itself facing criticism for partnering with Mulvaney as a brand ambassador,” the outlet added.
In a separate report, the Daily Mail noted: “Given that the partnership with Mulvaney was unveiled during March Madness, the annual NCAA basketball tournament, it’s notable that the brewer did not at all tweet during the University of Connecticut’s victory over San Diego State in the championship game on April 3.”
“Mulvaney’s April 2 Instagram post included her drinking a beer with her face printed on the can and lying in a bathtub knocking back Bud. The Instagram video currently has over 11,000 comments, many of them unhappy with the promotion,” the publication continued in its report.
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