We needn't get the reporting wrong...listen to Ms Heinerscheid's own words focused on Bud Light's "more resonant and meaningful" Super Bowl commercial
25:11..."Yeah! I....I think number one...you know...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 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. So I had this super clear mandate. Like, we need to evolve and elevate, this incredibly iconic brand. And...my...what I brought to that, was a belief in...ok, what does "evolve and elevate" mean? It's means INCLUSIVTY. 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. And representation is at sort of at the heart of evolution. You've got see people who reflect you, in the work. 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.
America has been divided from the get go. Even at the founding, about 15-20% of the nation were Loyalists. Thus there has ALWAYS been an irritated minority of wankers, yammering on and on. So be it.
Post-pandemic and 2020, The Wankers feel emboldened. They WANT to erase culture and replace it with antiseptic Eurotrash fakery. Their problem, however, is they STILL can't change the underlying hearts and minds.
Hence, the theatrical approach currently employed by Loyalists 2.0. To wit: Their approach to dealing with an ingrained individualist history where the 2nd Amendment is an 11th Commandment, is to erase it via the news, TV, schools, and social media. They're trying to soften rugged individualism with Andy Hepburn on a beer can.
The boycotts annoy them, because it is pick 6 defense. It is fighting fire with fire - theater with theater. Maybe boycotts don't work, but while they sniff at Kid Rock, they've turned Bud Light into Kryptonite for Normal People.
But it's still defense.
The BIG question is, What is the campaign would WE run to sell bad beer to folks under 35? Because Bud Light is left vs right in a nutshell. We should have destroyed the Dems in the midterms, and we barely took the House. It's not enough to say "we aren't Bidet or Merrick Garland or Pelosi, and we're not weird."
Similarly, it's not enough to say "we think this Dylan guy is off." We can't win the game with pick 6 defense. We need OFFENSE.
We need messaging that invigorates, leads, and captivates people. We should be taking the lead - the stories should be about bold, rugged individualistic advertising campaigns celebrating American exceptionalism, with the MSNBC crowd whining.
Until then, a guy in a dress on a beer can is a sign that the left is driving the truck, and keeping us on defense. Stand FOR something
She says, “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 decline for a really long time....” I believe a look at ABs stock price and its dividend over the last year or so would not prove that out.
Fail.
Any executive using "Like" in this fashion invalidates nearly everything they might have to say.
Affirmative Action hire.