This whole “Bud Light” drama is a true popcorn-eating delight.
You have put your finger on the best part— A brand move that would have been made at a lower level in the corporate decision loop has become a brand-critical decision.
Nobody in the Anheuser-Busch C-suite even gave a thought about whether to support “Pride Month”. Some relatively small execs in the ESG image office made that routine move.
Next year at A-B, this will be the CEO’s most important decision.
And... Next year all retailers will want upper-level review of “Pride”.
???
The C-suite of InBev / Transheuser-Busch was absolutely in on decisions to support Groomer Month. They may not have been aware of the particular campaign to use a mentally ill individual with Gender Dysphoria as their new spokes-troon.