Politicians have a saying: “Stand in the middle of the road and you’ll get run over.”
But if you keep jumping from one side to the other, you’re just as likely to get hit, as the makers of Bud Light are learning.
As you may still recall, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s sales plummeted in April after some marketing geniuses in the Bud Light division decided they wanted to change the brand’s “fratty” image for one that was “inclusive” — and “inclusivity,” to them, involved a promotion featuring transgender TikTok “influencer” Dylan Mulvaney.
The sudden decline in Bud Light sales prompted non-apologies from business executives, incredibly patriotic advertisements, and an attempt by the CEO to brand the idea of the Mulvaney sponsorship agreement as a campaign as “misinformation.”
But oh no! It also infuriated woke LGBT pressure organizations who were now upset Anheuser-Busch had ceased ramming rainbow wokeness down the gaping maw of Middle America. Not only did that not appease conservative Americans tired of having wokeness pushed down their throats, but it also did not placate them.
Because they believed Anheuser-Busch had abandoned Mulvaney like the cultural millstone he was, gay bars started to boycott the firm. Anheuser-Busch’s pristine 100 scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate index were taken away because the company did not “really stand up and demonstrate the importance of their values of diversity, equity, and inclusion” by supporting Mulvaney.
Now that “pride month” is here, it’s the ideal moment for Bud Light drivers to switch back to the opposite side of the road and hope no one sees.
Thus we get this from a company news release Tuesday:
“Today, Bud Light and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the exclusive certifying body for LGBT-owned businesses, announce they are extending their partnership to continue supporting economic opportunities and advancements for LGBTQ+ Americans and business owners across the country.”
“Bud Light was brewed to be an ‘Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy’ beer for everyone 21+ and that still holds true today,” the company said.
“We look forward to extending our work with the NGLCC to continue making a positive impact on the LGBTQ+ businesses that play a critical role in bringing people everywhere, together.”
“This year, Bud Light will donate $200,000 to the NGLCC in support of its Communities of Color Initiative (CoCi),” the release said. “This initiative is designed to support the growth and success of minority LGBTQ+-owned businesses through certification, scholarships and business development in an effort to create equal opportunities for the economic advancement of small businesses in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Woohoo! Not only is it pride-tastic, but it’s also intersectional, too!
The donation “to support LGBT Chamber of Commerce comes as AB InBev deals with criticism for failing to speak up for transgender rights in the wake of Dylan Mulvaney controversy,” according to the marketing magazine Ad Age.
Perhaps Bud Light’s marketing team decided that this was the ideal time to make up for the wokeness movement while remaining covert. After all, “pride month,” the 30-day period during which practically every corporate logo is redrawn in rainbow hues, is soon to begin. (With the obvious exception of the Middle East.)
The issue is that because Bud Light has emerged as the shining emblem of everything Middle America despises about corporate America’s homage to progressive activism, none of this will go unnoticed.
In fact, in just two months, the phenomenon of a firm having to backtrack from an overly woke marketing has been dubbed “BudLighting.”
After Target’s recent “pride month” snafu including, among other things, “tuck” women’s bathing suits meant for guys to cover their, hmm, maleness, and LGBT-themed products created by an actual satanist, the phrase was frequently used in the media.
The boycott against Bud Light hasn’t stopped either, as evidenced by statistics from Bump Williams Consulting and Nielsen IQ that showed Bud Light sales had fallen to a new low for the week ending May 20. According to reports, the boycott has cost AB InBev $15.7 billion in market capitalization, and 24 cases of Bud Light have been seen being sold for as little as $3.49.
As a result, negating all the BudLighting that Bud Light has been doing may be done quickly and easily by doing something like this:
— Budweiser (@budweiserusa) April 14, 2023
As for the DEI mob on the other side of the street, they will undoubtedly be pleased that Bud Light is giving the NGLCC $200,000 to support LGBT companies. But what about backing up Dylan Mulvaney, they’ll query? Are you willing to go through with it to demonstrate your deserving of the rainbow-colored logo?
The Bud Light executives will then hesitate for a while, murmur to one another, then attempt to cross over to the opposite side of the road.
They might also attempt to stand in the middle. The future? Maybe a commercial featuring a herd of transgender pride-flag-draped Clydesdales galloping around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will air. Sam Elliott will croon in the voiceover, saying that nothing is more American than a Memorial Day barbecue with hot dogs, good friends, and a very queer beer.
Whatever, I guess. Bud Light has moved from one side of the road to the other so frequently in the past two months that neither side of the road seemed to want it there.
So, after two months of frantic jumping, the center of the road is the only option. And everyone is aware of what occurs when you stand there.