The chief marketing officer for Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch admitted that backlash to the company’s marketing scheme with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was a “wake-up call” in remarks that seemed to express regret as the brand’s profits continue to fall.
Marcel Marcondes made the remarks in a presentation at the Cannes Lions festival held in France, according to AdAge, acknowledging that “controversial and divisive debates” hurt large corporations, “especially Bud Light.” He insisted, again, that the brand is “all about bringing people together” with beer.
Explaining the lessons learned from the Mulvaney fiasco, Marcondes explained that “companies and brands must be driven by their values. We are a beer company. Beer is for everyone.”
He then seemed to say that this means not offending your brand’s most loyal consumers with politically charged sponsorships.
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“In times like this, when things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers first of all to be very humble,” said the chief marketing officer.
Marcondes then said the company is “being very humble” and “reminding ourselves of what we should do best every day, which is to really understand our consumers.” He added, “to really celebrate and appreciate every consumer that loves our brands—but in a way that can make them be together, not apart.”
Then, he promised that Bud Light will survive the current cultural shock surrounding the beer and continue to be an iconic brand.
“That’s what Bud Light stands for—it exists to make beer easy to drink and easy to enjoy. That’s what we all, as a team, will be doing moving forward as a group. That’s what leaders do. Bud Light is coming back. It’s going all around the country, reconnecting with consumers, moving forward. That’s what you can expect from Bud Light in the U.S.”
Bud Light continues to suffer in week-over-week sales as other beers struggle for the brand’s lost market share.
Recently, Modelo Especial eclipsed Bud Light as the top selling beer in the United States, a trend that analysts have attributed to both the growing Hispanic population in the United States and the consumer boycott sparked by the Mulvaney ad campaign.
