Anheuser-Busch Heir Blames ‘Woke’ Marketing Students on Bud Light Backlash, Offers to Buy Back Budweiser
(Photo: Fox News/YouTube)
Billy Busch, the heir to the Anheuser-Busch dynasty, recently went on Fox and Friends to promote his new book and had a few words to say about the current Bud Light situation. Busch commented that he thinks Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has lost its way and doesn’t understand American values. Busch suggested that his family should buy back the Budweiser brand which would be a “win-win” for AB InBev.
Often referred to as the “world’s largest brewer” AB InBev is the parent company of numerous brands including Budweiser and Bud Light.
On April 1st, social media influencer and trans activist Dylan Mulvaney advertised Bud Light on their Instagram account. This seemingly harmless promotion set off a firestorm of anti-trans comments that grew into a movement to boycott Bud Light.
Notably, Kid Rock took to Twitter to shoot cases of Bud Light. Several politicians also jumped onto this bandwagon with Ted Cruz being very vocal about his disapproval of the Bud Light, Mulvaney partnership. He even claimed the advertisement was targeted at minors.
The movement was successful and over the last several months Bud Light sales have dropped off dramatically. As a result, Modelo has replaced it as the most-sold beer in the US.
Lately, Busch has come onto the scene to criticize AB InBev’s management of the Budweiser family brands.
“My ancestors worked to build the company, to build a beer dynasty and to build the brands,” Busch told Fox News. Busch continued, “They took it through Prohibition. They took it through the world wars. They always put America first. It’s just tough to see this great brand that has been America’s beer for all these years go downhill at this point. I think really the only way that InBev is going to be able to get out of this trouble that they’re in is to do something drastic.
“And they may actually need to sell the Budweiser family brand to get out of this situation. And what better way could they sell it? I think it would be a win-win situation for both of us, for my family and for InBev if they sold it back to us. And we could really bring the values back that Budweiser and Bud Light were built on.”
The Anheuser-Busch heir’s comments come after AB InBev’s recent sale of eight of its brands to the Canadian cannabis company Tilray. Busch commented on a podcast that if the company wanted to sell Bud Light, he would buy it. He added, “I think we can make Bud Light great again.” Presumably, his wording is meant to mirror former President Donald Trump’s well-known campaign slogan.
The Busch family was unable to stop the sale of Anheuser-Busch to InBev in 2008 after years of reduced stake in the company.
Fox and Friends host, Steve Doocy prompted Busch by highlighting that AB InBev is a foreign company without American values. Busch agreed and believes part of Budweisers problems stem from its parent company not being based in the US.
“I think that is part of the problem,” said Busch. “Their advertising for Bud Light was the wrong kind of advertising, the wrong kind of message. They probably thought they were being inclusive but obviously, they alienated a lot of people and now people are boycotting Bud Light and not drinking the beer any longer. And it’s a darn shame.
Busch added, “They’re bankers, they look for ways to increase revenue and cut expenses. I don’t think they really understand or relate to core Bud Light drinkers.”
However, it should be stated that Bud Light did not sell cans with the social media influencer’s face on it. The cans that were posted on TikTok were only for Mulvaney. The special beer cans were meant to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Mulvaney’s transition, featuring her face and a message on the top of the can read “Cheers to 365 Days of Being a Woman,” referencing Mulvaney’s preamble in her “Days of Girlhood” series.
In recent comments, Busch was critical of the people behind AB InBev’s marketing strategies.
He said, “’When you are a foreign company and you rely on these woke students that are coming out of these woke colleges to do your advertising for you, you’re making a big mistake.”
The sale of Budweiser would be a major shift for AB InBev and new ownership could change the perception of Bud Light. Busch appears ready to rekindle the brand’s core consumers which likely means pandering to its base.
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