Posted on 05/01/2023 11:58:05 AM PDT by Morgana
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of embattled beer brand Bud Light, hired veteran Republican lobbyists who are trying to win back conservatives upset by the company’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.
Bud Light has hemorrhaged sales in recent weeks after executives partnered with Mulvaney, a man who claims to be a woman and chronicled his purported gender transition on social media. Anheuser-Busch hired two lobbyists from Origin Advocacy to discuss “general policy regarding the alcohol-beverage industry” with lawmakers, according to a document filed in accordance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
Sean McLean, who served as an associate director for the White House under former President Donald Trump, as well as a legislative director for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) when she was a member of the House, was listed in the disclosure as an individual “who has acted or is expected to act as a lobbyist” for Anheuser-Busch. Emily Lynch, who worked as a legislative assistant for former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), was also listed in the disclosure.
The American Accountability Foundation, a conservative research and government oversight nonprofit, warned congressional staffers in an email obtained by The Daily Wire that the lobbyists were “making the rounds” in order to “red-wash Bud Light’s disastrous decision to partner with a man pretending to be a woman and tell you the company really does respect conservative values.” The lobbyists allegedly compared the commemorative Bud Light cans featuring Mulvaney to a similar effort honoring World War II veterans.
“This is exactly the kind of behavior that the American people hate, telling people you’re a rock-ribbed conservative one day and then shilling for a company who is an active participant in destroying the values Americans cherish the next when you can make buckets of cash doing it,” Thomas Jones, the founder of the American Accountability Foundation, said in the email.
The lobbying effort comes as Anheuser-Busch sustains heavy backlash from conservatives that has translated to diminished financial performance. Sales for draft beer products marketed by Anheuser-Busch fell as much as 50% in the immediate aftermath of the campaign and continue to decline weeks after the controversy as beer enthusiasts search for alternatives.
Alissa Heinerscheid, a marketing executive for Bud Light who was responsible for the Mulvaney campaign and is now on a leave of absence, previously stated that she wanted to change the “fratty” brand image Bud Light projects and introduce more “inclusivity” to the product.
Other brand managers for Bud Light have likewise failed to make amends with customers unnecessarily alienated by the partnership with Mulvaney. Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement in response to the controversy but did not make mention of Mulvaney or apologize to customers.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” the executive said. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Mulvaney continues to have a seemingly bottomless demand from companies desiring his endorsement even as their consumer bases voice frustration: makeup brand Ulta Beauty and fashion house Kate Spade have each partnered with the influencer, as have grocery delivery service Instacart, toothpaste brand Crest, and skin care line CeraVe.
Terrified of less than 3% of the population, probably less, is not a good business model.
What next? Restaurants letting the shirtless, shoeless crowd in fear of being labeled “Hippyphobic”?
Lobbyists??? Are they going to get laws passed in Congress and legislatures mandating the consumption of AB products? You buy two beers one of them will have to be to be Bud?
All the who owns who stuff aside, hiring lobbyists in an effort to redeem the brand image certainly smells of desperation no?
I wonder how many were actually in on the decision to have a trans freako as a spokesperson........when the poop hit the fan I bet the finger pointing was epic.
Weird, I thought it had no effect.
Yep, eliminate all associations with political and social “programs”. Next, rename and re-label the beer, and make it nothing like the old label and name. A lot of people liked that slop.
LOL. If they found someone “conservatives” dislike more than gay men posing as women - they have may have found it.
DC political consultants.
“”The lobbyists allegedly compared the commemorative Bud Light cans featuring Mulvaney to a similar effort honoring World War II veterans.””
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOQbCTCB5-A
Go to 3:30 for the main event.
WWII veterans would call in artillery to rid the earth of it.
.
Good luck with that!
AmBev is out!!!!!!
What’s the big deal? Anheuser-Busch should tell Fox News if they put Tucker Carlson back on the air with free rein during his regular time slot and allow Bud Light to run their beer commercials during that same time slot, they will pay Carlson’s salary.
A B really doesn’t give a damn about its customers. It is only concerned with us E.S.G. score. That’s where the money is.
“Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement in response to the controversy but did not make mention of Mulvaney or apologize to customers.”
Brendan, in case you’re having trouble figuring out the problem, here’s some free help (no lobbyist charge). Make a video telling everyone you’re really sorry you didn’t catch the Mulvaney ad before it went out, you do NOT agree with it and it won’t happen again as you and Mulvaney have parted ways. It’s THAT simple. Your sales will go up by billions. If not and you take too long to do the aforementioned, you’ll permanently lose a HUGE part of your customer base. You can NOT just make warm, fuzzy ads and hope it all gies away because then we will KNOW you are lying. It’s your choice. Man up and do the right thing. Or, end up losing YOUR job.
So sad too bad your dad!
easy to drink
easy to enjoy
easy to pick another beer
where is the commercial with dylan?
are they ashamed of him?
Not enough rope.
Don’t give them any ideas....
They ought to just throw in the towel and remanned their swill ‘Golden Showers’.
You know, going after that ‘non-fratty’ crowd...
Just goes to show you the idiots that have infiltrated big corp. at executive levels. Too bad, so sad.
ab sells the brand
new owner changes the name
new owner makes it taste like yuengling
then maybe they will get some of their customers
No more Crest toothpaste in this household!
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