Posted on 04/15/2023 6:42:41 PM PDT by Morgana
Anheuser-Busch's handling of backlash to its Bud Light brand partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been branded a historically-bad marketing gaffe by a leading expert.
In a Bloomberg Opinion column on Saturday, advertising and brands expert Ben Schott called the Bud Light imbroglio 'a marketing case study for the ages' in 'how not to handle brand collaborations in a dangerously polarized space.'
Schott ranked the incident alongside infamous brand 'gaffes' in history, such as the chairman of Barilla pasta's 2013 declaration that he 'would never do a commercial with a homosexual family'.
And in 2006, the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch notoriously said the company only wanted 'cool' and 'attractive' customers, saying, 'Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.'
'But Bud Light's action is worse than a gaffe, it's a betrayal,' wrote Schott, noting that the brand retreated into 'cowardly' silence, leaving Mulvaney high and dry, as the controversy exploded online and in bars across the country.
'Bud Light actively and eagerly sought out a controversial influencer in a dangerously polarized space, with neither the wisdom to plan for a backlash nor the bravery to stand by its partner,' he wrote.
Schott was sympathetic to Mulvaney - but condemned Bud Light for choosing to use the star for a campaign, then abandon her when the going got tough.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I am wrong. They are calling that mentally unstable person on the Bud Light can “her.”
Good point.
Influencer, star, she? Wow the author is brainwashed.
Ranks right up there with the Edsel and New Coke.
CC
Abandon “her”? That’s the problem
Yes, it is worse than New Coke. NC was simply a misreading of consumers taste and loyalty to a brand. Coke did taste tests and NC came out on top. What the Coke Corp. didn’t foresee was consumers, when NC was rolled out, and faced with loss of the original iconic brand, objected to the loss. However, there was no cultural or moral issue involved, only a misreading of taste tests and Coke recovered well from the original disaster.
Bud CEO note to self: Take the freak off the can and replace with Clydesdale horses pronto
“But the CEO made such a genuine and forceful statement.”
Seriously, the GOP could teach the guy a thing or two about writing “stern” and “strongly worded” letters.
Dylan Mulvaney prancing around in his videos does not remind me of any lady or girl I have ever met....
I think she will be treated like a leper until they figure a quiet way to get rid of her.
This would be a great Harvard Business School case—of a Harvard Business School grad gone bad!
The marketing expert quoted is typical of Bloomberg’s stable of far left contributors. This “expert” would have driven Bud Light into the ground by making Mulvaney the face of Bud Light through a saturation media campaign instead of merely a throwaway $35K influencer to appeal to crossdressers and people who respond to this kind of virtue signal. This Bloomberg moron doesn’t seem to understand that customers are responding at a visceral, not political level. The Mulvaney character conjures up a beer drinker’s worst nightmare - getting all friendly-like with a tall, slim husky-voiced coed, going south of the equator, and discovering, like Roald Amundsen, a pole.
Yeah
But she kept the company’s CEI score high!
Great post.
Marketing is all about getting deep into the psyche of your current customers (that you want to retain) and future customers (that you want to acquire).
There are well established and documented methods of accomplishing this—any marketing exec that fails to use them needs to be escorted off the premises by security—no discussion, no debate—just gone.
I purchase Barilla products consistently.
Or Honda naming its sport car aimed for women after the most popular vaginal sex toy of the decade. the Prelude.I've heard of the "pervert knob" with early Preludes, but never this one. (See Honda Prelude "pervert lever" Where's the sex toy story from?
Woke whining.
“blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...then abandon her....”
You can always spot a tyrant by watching who’s telling other people what to say, think or do.
“Buy our beer or you’re a transphobe” and we’ll....”
chatgpt
The Prelude vibrator was a popular sex toy for women that was manufactured in the mid-20th century. It was a sleek, cylindrical device made of metal and typically came in a silver or gold finish. The device was designed to vibrate and stimulate a woman’s clitoris and vagina.
While the original Prelude vibrator is no longer being produced, there are many modern vibrators on the market that are inspired by its design and functionality. These newer devices may include additional features like adjustable vibration speeds, different vibration patterns, and rechargeable batteries.
If you’re interested in purchasing a vintage Prelude vibrator, you may be able to find one through online auction sites or vintage sex toy collectors. However, please be aware that using a vintage sex toy may pose certain health risks, as the materials and manufacturing standards of older devices may not meet modern safety standards.
2 / 2
I buy them too.
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