A month and a half after conservative outrage directed at Bud Light began, right wing social media has turned its attention to Miller Lite after a months-old commercial for the brand resurfaced.
The ad features comedian Ilana Glazer delivering a monologue tracing women’s involvement in beer, from the medieval alewives to the bikini-clad spokeswomen of the 1980s. The commercial kicked off a Women’s History Month activation in which Miller Lite collected old beer paraphernalia that objectified women with the goal of composting the materials into fertilizer to donate to women brewers to grow ingredients.
“Miller Lite said to Bud Light, ‘hold my beer,’ and decided to create a new ad campaign straight out of early 2010s ‘I hate all men’ feminism to sell a drink to customers they hate,” conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong tweeted.
In the four weeks ending May 6, dollar sales of Miller Lite have increased +20.5% and volume, measured in case sales, has increased +13.9% compared to the same period last year at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm NIQ, according to data shared by Bump Williams Consulting.
In the same period, Bud Light has declined in both dollar sales (-21.3%) and volume (-25.5%). Sales of Bud Light have been in freefall since conservative drinkers unleashed a tidal wave of outrage on the internet after the brand partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer who documents her life as a trans woman. Since the firestorm began, critics have encouraged consumers to switch to different light beer brands, including Miller Lite, contributing to the brand’s bump in sales.
Bud Light’s retail declines, at least in off-premise retailers, appear to be leveling off, as the brand’s losses only accelerated by a fraction from the week ending April 29 (-23.3% in dollar sales) and the week ending May 6 (-23.6% in dollar sales). Previous week-over-week declines during the boycott were much steeper.
The right-wing anger over Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney comes at a time when bills banning gender-affirming care and curtailing LGBTQ+ rights, particularly for trans people, are spreading.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s public statements since calls for boycotts from drinkers and backlash from wholesalers have not mentioned Mulvaney or reiterated support for the LGBTQ+ community. Two marketing executives – VP of marketing for Bud Light, Alissa Heinerscheid, the first woman to lead the country’s largest beer brand, and group VP of marketing for mainstream brands Daniel Blake – have been placed on leave. Heinerscheid and another female communications employee had become targets for online harassment, but A-B never issued any corporate statements asking for the online abuse to stop.
By comparison, Molson Coors has chosen to respond directly to recent online harassment of its employees by right wing media personalities and conservative social media users, issuing the following statement:
“People can take issue with our ads or our brands, but we won’t stand by as people personally attack our employees – especially given that these are company decisions, and are never made by one single person. We have thousands of hard-working people from all walks of life who are only doing what millions of other Americans do every day, working hard to earn a living, and we will always support them and stand by their work.”
On Monday when conservative figures targeted Miller Lite for the March ad, Molson Coors attempted to quell outrage with a statement explaining the ad’s rationale:
“This video was about two things: worm poop and saying women shouldn’t be forced to mud wrestle in order to sell beer. Neither of these things should be remotely controversial and we hope beer drinkers can appreciate the humor (and ridiculousness) of this video from back in March.”
In the face of wholesaler anger, A-B has offered employees of its distributors free cases of Bud Light and $500 payments in some cases. It has promised to revamp its marketing program to improve transparency, and blamed the Mulvaney partnership on an unnamed external agency, which it has since fired, according to Fox News.
A-B’s attempts to ameliorate right wing anger and CEO Brendan Whitworth’s walkback statement that the company does not intend to “be part of a discussion that divides people,” has also alienated the LGBTQ+ community, resulting in the removal of its products from several LGBTQ+ bars, including those in the Illinois-based 2 Bears Tavern Group.
“In view of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s abandonment of its support of transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, the subsequent reprehensible and divisive comments by its CEO, and Anheuser-Busch putting on involuntary leave at least two marketing executives involved in the marketing campaign that celebrated Mulvaney’s transgender journey, 2 Bears Tavern Group is discontinuing all Anheuser-Busch InBev products, including Busch Light, Bud Light, and Goose Island 312,” the group wrote.
“Anheuser-Busch’s decision to drop its support of Mulvaney in response to ignorant and hateful objections by some of its customers shows how little Anheuser-Busch cares about the LGBTQIA+ community, and in particular transgender people, who have been under unrelenting attack in this country,” 2 Bears continued.
2 Bears includes the SoFo Tap, Meeting House, 2 Bears Tavern and Jackhammer. Other LGBTQ+ bars in Chicago, including Sidetrack, have joined the boycott.
This isn’t the first time A-B has drawn the ire of LGBTQ+ bars. In 2021, the Stonewall Inn – the historic bar in New York City where a 1969 uprising sparked the LGBTQ community’s fight for equality, which is commemorated every June during Pride month – announced it would remove all A-B products from its menu in advance of New York City’s Pride march because of the company’s financial support of politicians who advance anti-LGBTQ bills.
Last month, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), which gave A-B a perfect 100 score on its Corporate Equality Index (CEI), sent the global brewer a letter asking for explicit support for Mulvaney and transgender consumers, employees and partners.
“In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community,” HRC EVP of programs, research and training Jay Brown wrote to A-B chief people officer Lindsay King. “However, when faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch’s actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to employees, customers, shareholders and the LGBTQ+ community.
“This not only lends credence to hate-filled rhetoric, it exposes Anheuser-Busch to long-term business impacts with employees and customers increasingly looking for steadfast commitment to LGBTQ+ corporate citizenship,” Brown continued.
In light of A-B’s public statements and actions since the backlash to its partnership with Mulvaney, the HRC is revisiting the company’s perfect CEI score.
“We expect companies to live up to the spirit, not just the letter, of the CEI,” Shawnie Hawkins, HRC director of workplace equality program, told Brewbound. “As stated in the letter we sent to A-B, we’re taking a hard look at their actions and how those actions ultimately impact their score.”
Although declining sales of Bud Light have been the focus of seemingly endless media coverage, Hawkins pointed out that A-B’s stance amidst reactionary backlash could jeopardize its employer brand with upcoming generations. Nearly 8% of American adults identify as LGBTQ+, but almost 20% of Gen Z does, according to the HRC.
“This is also about being pro-business growth and supporting the future workforce,” Hawkins said. “We want to be partners in this work with businesses like A-B, but we need to have a conversation in order to do that and determine a pathway through which A-B InBev shows up better for the community.”
In a statement to Brewbound, A-B reaffirmed its broader external relations work, including with the LGBTQ+ community.
“We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations to drive economic prosperity across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community,” a spokesperson said.
To foster a work environment that supports LGBTQ+ employees, companies must create “space for dialogue,” often through employee resource groups, Sabrina Kent, EVP of programs and external affairs for the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NLCC), told Brewbound. Moreover, corporate leadership should make sure there is no ambiguousness about their support for staff.
“Hearing messaging from the highest levels of the company about their intent and their actions behind supporting their LGBTQ and allied team members is vital,” she said.
But words are always more powerful when backed up by actions, and Kent shared an anecdote about a company she conversed with recently that had a trans employee looking to relocate. The employer made sure to transfer the employee to an office in a state with protections for trans residents.
“There’s so much through business that we do that affects our personal lives,” Kent said. “I think frequently we say business and personal are so distinct, but the reality is we spend the majority of our lives working and so I think a lot of companies are doing absolutely whatever they can in this uncertain climate in order to ensure that they’re protecting their employees and their talent.”