Anheuser-Busch (AB) stepped in it. Bigly. As I noted on April 9th,
For some reason the powers that be at Anheuser-Busch thought it would be a good move to make a man their spokesgirl. This is the now-European owned company that makes all-American beers like Budweiser and Bud Light, not exactly the market in which one expects to find support for the increasingly violent and radical transgender ideology.
Initially, AB defended this wildly unpopular decision, but as boycotts kicked in and the reality of the wide-spread customer displeasure became too much to ignore, they trotted out their CEO’s vapid, tone-deaf statement. It wasn’t an apology; it wasn’t even a recognition that they had alienated and offended a huge portion of their customer base.
Needless to say, neither defending nor ignoring the situation improved things . . . as AB discovered when Bud Light’s Twitter account tentatively queried after a week of radio silence: “TGIF?”.
Caught in a PR nightmare, AB still doesn’t have any idea how to fix their relationship with their customer base. We know this because their latest non-apology attempt to appease their irate (and former) customers was to announce that their woke Bud Light marketing VP is on a leave of absence.
There is word that she is “off the brand,” so maybe that encompasses something longer term than her leave of absence?
Bud Light marketing vice president Alissa Heinerscheid is taking a leave of absence and is being replaced by Budweiser global marketing vice president Todd Allen, AdAge reports.The company has also hired two consultants with experience in Washington, D.C.’s conservative circles to advise the brand moving forward.Origin Advocacy consultants Sean McLean and Emily Lynch have been brought on to advise “general policy regarding the alcohol-beverage industry,” according to lobbying disclosure reports filed to the U.S. Senate on April 1.McLean is a veteran of former President Donald Trump’s administration. He also served on the legislative staff of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.Lynch has previously held policy staff positions under Republican Rep. Rep. Virginia Foxx and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte.
A nice (likely paid) vacation for the mastermind behind this fiasco . . . and still no word that the company has a clue what went wrong or why.
Apparently, the DC conservative consultants weren’t consulted about this latest move or this statement. The “steps” they are taking are full of woke jargon.
Here’s the full statement if you can’t read it in the above tweet (archive link):
“Today, we communicated some next steps with our internal teams and wholesaler partners,” per A-B spokesperson. “First, we made it clear that the safety and welfare of our employees and our partners is our top priority. Second, Todd Allen is appointed Vice President of Bud Light reporting directly to Benoit Garbe, U.S. Chief Marketing Officer. Third, we have made some adjustments to streamline the structure of our marketing function to reduce layers so that our most senior marketers are more closely connected to every aspect of our brands activities. These steps will help us maintain focus on the things we do best: brewing great beer for all consumers, while always making a positive impact in our communities and on our country.”
In the context of this woke marketing disaster, the whole but we care about our employees’ “safety” stuff is ludicrous and comes straight out of the colleges and the whole “safe spaces” with bubbles, coloring books, and Play-Doh nonsense. Further, do we need AB to “make a positive impact on our communities and country”?
Stick to brewing and selling beer. That’s it. Anything more is political and meddling well outside their wheelhouse.
Needless to say, people have thoughts.
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